What May Lie Ahead: Year One
by ScarletPimpernel7
Summary: 20 years down the road and life is still far from simple. Where are our heroes now? And will Voldemort manage to rise to power once again? Centers on the Snape family. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

If the noise didn't stop soon he was going to make sure there was hell to pay. The shrieks and yelling and intermediate bangs had aggravated his headache until he thought his head was going to explode. Why couldn't they all be quiet like Viviane or Nimue?  
  
Severus Snape sighed as he leaned back in his desk chair. Sometimes he thought that his children would be the death of him, not that 19 year old Viviane, or even Nimue, who at 13 was his youngest, had ever caused any trouble. No, it was the three in the middle that Severus was convinced were going to send him into an early grave. He grimaced as he heard another shriek from the room above him, and then sighed in resignation. He didn't doubt that Kamen, his only son, had somehow managed to provoke his sisters in some way, and was probably now either desperately trying to stay out of their way or was suffering from some form of revenge.  
  
Severus slowly got up from his desk, trying to remember if his head had ever throbbed like this before. He reached the door to his study just has he heard a thundering on the stairs. As he opened the door to the hallway he narrowly avoided being run over as Kamen ran past, closely followed by two of his sisters. At that moment Nimue poked her head around the corner, as she looked down the hallway after her screaming siblings Severus caught her eye. Giving her a pointed look he started "Do you know..."  
  
Nimue shrugged her shoulders, "Do I ever know how he gets them going?"  
  
Another sigh, as much as he didn't feel like confronting his children at the moment, it looked like it would be the only way to gain some peace and quiet in his house. Severus strode purposefully down the hallway till he came to the sitting room where he could hear his daughters yelling at Kamen.  
  
"Give it back Kamen!"  
  
"If you don't give it back right now I'm gonna throw so many curses at you that..."  
  
"You know perfectly well that there will be no curse throwing under my roof."  
  
The three figures in front of him froze as Severus continued, "Considering such an empty threat, if ever carried out, is prohibited under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, it would be a very good way of getting yourselves expelled. Although that is nothing compared to what you will face if I ever find out you have been hexing one another."  
  
"Come on Dad, you know I didn't really mean it."  
  
Severus turned his cold gaze on the tall red head who had spoken, "then I suggest that you think before you speak next time Adelaide."  
  
He saw her cringe slightly when he used her given name, something he only did when he was in a less than good mood, clear evidence that the three of them had pushed the limits a little too far this time. Her twin sister, who matched Adelaide in height and figure, but not in coloring, spoke up, "Dad, it's really not our fault. Kamen," she shot her brother a murderous glare "took my diary out of my room and he won't give it back!"  
  
"Right now I don't care who took what." Severus' cold gaze took on the now subdued trio standing before him, "what I care about is that the three of you have been running around inside all afternoon, screaming and acting extremely childish after I told you this morning that I needed quiet today because I am trying to get some work done. Now, either you take it outside or stay in here and be quiet." All this was said with a deadly calm in his voice that was almost worse to his children than when he yelled. Almost. Severus turned and walked back out of the room, but paused at the door long enough to say, "Kamen, giver your sister her diary back."  
  
Adelaide, more commonly called Dierna, turned to look at Kamen. She put her hands on her hips, unconsciously mimicking the stance their mother took when she was angry, her smoky green eyes were smoldering and her auburn curls shook slightly with suppressed rage. Kamen decided that he definitely did not want to face Dierna when she looked like that. Even though she was half a foot shorter than him she still made a formidable opponent. He turned, only to find himself facing the same image from Dierna's twin Serena. Except that Serena possessed her father's black eyes and straight black hair. With the deep tan of her skin she looked more Mediterranean than like their father's "English Rose" as he called her, a play on her full name, which was Serena Rose.  
  
Serena extended her hand slowly. "Give me my diary now!" She drew every word out slowly, the icy tone in her voice alerted Kamen to the fact that she was absolutely furious with him.  
  
Kamen reluctantly handed the diary over, and tried to keep his voice low so that they wouldn't attract their father's attention again, "Come on Ser! It's my duty as your older brother to keep you on your toes." He threw his sisters his lopsided grin that most of the girls in town melted over; combined with his black hair and eyes, and his tan skin, along with his 6'2" athletic frame he cut an incredibly good looking figure. His sisters were not impressed. He jumped slightly when he felt Dierna reach up and smack him across the back of his head.  
  
"Ow! Hey, what was that for?!" Kamen turned to glare at Dierna.  
  
"That was for getting Dad mad at all of us." She glared right back at him.  
  
"How was I supposed to know he was in a bad mood today!?" Kamen sounded hurt, "it's not as if I was intentionally trying to get you into trouble!"  
  
Kamen could've sworn he could feel the glares Dierna and Serena sent him as much as he saw them.  
  
"Keep it down." Serena hissed at Kamen, "I don't want Dad coming in here again, because if he does, we're all probably gonna end up grounded."  
  
"Yeah, nice going Kamen, I still have to ask Dad if I can go out with Stefan tonight." Dierna continued to glare at her brother.  
  
"Than I suggest that you wait for an hour or two and give him a chance to cool down little sister," Kamen put on an innocent face, "I'm gonna go outside to practice some quidditch, would either of you like to join me?" He took in the icy glares from both girls and grinned widely, "No takers? Then I'll see you two later."  
  
Kamen went out of the double doors that led from the sitting room out to the wide back yard, which supported a large open field speckled with wild flowers bordered by large shade trees. It was where Kamen, Dierna, and Serena, who were all on their house quidditch team usually practiced together.  
  
Dierna and Serena turned and left in the opposite direction, exiting through the large dark wood door, which led into the main hallway of the large stone house. The other rooms in the hallway were their father's study, the library and a larger living room. At the end of the hallway was the entrance foyer that contained the stairway up to the second story of the house, along with the entrance to the dining room and kitchen.  
  
The twins walked down the hallway in silence, taking extra care not to make any noise when they passed the door to their father's study. They went up the stairs in the foyer and turned to the right at the top. They went to the end of the hallway where the room that they shared was. As soon as they entered the room Serena let out a sigh of relief.  
  
"At least we made it up here without incident, right Dierna?"  
  
"Hmpf! At least you don't have to go back down there and ask him if it's ok to go out with your boyfriend tonight"  
  
Serena flopped down on her bed, which was a tall four poster hung with dark blue curtains. Dierna collapsed onto her matching bed and rolled over on her back and stared at the underside of her canopy.  
  
"I hate asking him if I can go out when he's in a bad mood; he's much more likely to say no."  
  
"Don't worry about it, he almost always says no when you ask to go out" Serena looked over at her sister, "you know you're his favorite", her black eyes sparkled mischievously as she said the last part.  
  
Dierna quickly sat up and aimed a pillow at her sister hitting her square in the face, the pillows continued to fly until both sisters collapsed in a fit of giggles. This was a habit that the two sisters had. Dierna was much more social than Serena, and during the summer she went out with her boyfriend, Stefan, several times during the week. Whenever their father was in a bad mood, she dreaded asking him if she could go out, mainly because he usually said no when he wasn't in a good mood. Not that it happened like that very often.  
  
Severus' children had never feared them like the rest of his students had. He was, to a very small extent, approachable and loving to his children, but when he was displeased with them it was to their benefit to stay out of his way. He was quick to anger, but also quick to forgive, unlike their mother who was much more easy going. Ironically he was the parent that his children usually ran to when they were upset, but he was also the disciplinarian in the family. Whenever Dierna was apprehensive about asking him something Serena would make some joke about how Dierna was the obvious favorite, mainly because Dierna ended up in trouble much more often than any of the other four Snape children ever had.  
  
Dierna fell back on her bed as she tried to regain her breath after laughing so hard. She closed her eyes for a moment as she calmed down and tried to gather her thoughts. She sat up on her bed and gazed moodily out the large window across from her.  
  
"I might as well go back down there and get this over with"  
  
"Why don't you just ask Mum instead?"  
  
"Because I already did, and she said I had to ask Dad."  
  
Serena sat up on her bed and tilted her head to one side as she looked at her sister, "Go ahead, I'll be up here for moral support if you need it afterwards." She then retrieved a book from her nightstand and walked over to the deep window seat that was bordered by long blue curtains. "Don't worry hon. I'm sure everything will be alright."  
  
Dierna gave her sister a grateful look before she headed back out the door and down the stairs. When she reached the bottom of the stairs she quickly slipped into the library first where she saw Nimue perched on one of the sofas reading.  
  
"Do you know if Dad has calmed down any?"  
  
Nimue looked up at her sister and tilted her head to the side, a habit that all of the Snape girls had inherited from their mother, "I'm not sure, but he hasn't come out of his study since you and Serena went upstairs, which means that he _might_ be in a better mood by now."  
  
"That wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear you know," Dierna spoke softly as she moved over to the fireplace and started adjusting her clothing and hair while she looked in the mirror that hung on the wall. Years of getting in trouble and talking her way around her father had taught Dierna that a neat appearance would get her a lot farther when her dad was in a bad mood.  
  
"You look fine Dierna, besides, Dad really likes Stefan, you don't have anything to worry about." The look on Nimue's face was older than her 13 years; her perception of the situation was amazing. Dierna shook her head; sometimes her little sister's amount of wisdom absolutely amazed her. She sighed, and shook out her curls, trying to clear her mind before she faced her father.  
  
"Thanks little sis. I guess I might as well get this over with."  
  
Dierna exited the library and continued down the hall till she reached the door to her father's study. She took a deep breath before she raised her hand and knocked on the dark, polished surface.  
  
"Enter."  
  
Another deep breath before she slowly opened the door and took a tentative step into the room. It was decidedly masculine in décor with dark green curtains and leather furniture. Severus looked up from the papers on his desk and motioned for Dierna to come in, he gestured her over to the window seat that was behind his desk and turned his own chair around to face her. Dierna took her seat and looked at her father, trying to gauge exactly what kind of mood he was in.  
  
"What is it Bright Eyes?"  
  
Dierna relaxed considerably when her father used his pet name for her. "Dad, Stefan wanted me to go out with him tonight, can I go?"  
  
Severus leaned back in his chair and smiled slightly, he honestly liked the young man that was Dierna's boyfriend. He had just graduated from Hogwarts this year and was now working for the ministry. The fact that both Stefan's family and the Snapes live just outside of Hogsmead had made it convenient for Dierna and Stefan to continue seeing each other, even though he had graduated.  
  
"You will of course be in by 11."  
  
Dierna rolled her eyes, "Come on Dad, it's the summer! Curfew at 2?"  
  
Severus raised an eyebrow, "Who's setting the rules here? I was under the impression that that was my job."  
  
Dierna smiled and drew her knees up to her chest as she reached with one hand to push a stray curl behind her ear. She was constantly matching wits with her father, and although she very rarely came out on top she still enjoyed their amiable banter. "Now Dad, be fair, I will barely get to see Stefan once school starts again." She pouted slightly and put on her best angelic face.  
  
"You can have till midnight, no later."  
  
"But Dad..."  
  
"I said midnight, that's final." He gave her the pointed look that the Snape children had learned was usually their one and only warning that they were about to push things too far.  
  
Dierna thought quickly, he seemed like he was in a good mood, maybe she could push him just a little further...  
  
"Please Dad, can't we just have a little longer, please..."  
  
Severus looked at his daughter for a long moment, he had been rather hard on her and her siblings earlier, maybe this once...  
  
"You will be in by 12:30; one minute late and you'll be grounded until school starts. Do I make myself clear?"  
  
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!" Dierna threw herself at her father and hugged him tightly, "I promise I'll be in on time."  
  
Severus allowed himself to smile at how radiantly happy his daughter looked, "if he's taking you out to dinner you should probably go get ready." His smile widened at the look of surprise on Dierna's face when she checked her watch and squealed at how late it already was. Severus stood up and leaned down to plant a kiss on the top of his daughter's head, "have fun Bright Eyes, and make sure you're home on time."  
  
"I will Dad." Dierna happily ran out of the study and back upstairs to get ready to go out. Severus was about to go back to work when he noticed his wife standing in the doorway.  
  
"I saw what you did Severus Snape, extending the curfew you imposed, are you?"  
  
Severus smiled as he quickly crossed the room to embrace his wife.  
  
Morgan Snape was a petit woman, with long, curly brown hair that cascaded around her shoulders and the most amazing large brown eyes Severus had ever seen, he swore could lose himself in those eyes forever. She went happily into her husband's embrace, after twenty years of marriage she loved him more than ever.  
  
"Did you know love, that you're a complete pushover when it comes to our daughters?" Morgan smiled wickedly as she playfully accused her husband. Severus looked down at his wife, the woman he loved more than life itself, and attempted to sound hurt at her mention of his softness, "Now wherever did you get an idea like that my dear?"  
  
Morgan leaned further into her husband's embrace as she chuckled softly, "I don't know love, maybe it's the fact that they've been working you over for years. Although I don't blame them, your curfew is ridiculously early."  
  
"I see absolutely no reason for my teenage daughters to be out at all hours of the night..."  
  
"Now really Sev, 11 is hardly late, you could at least extend their curfew till midnight."  
  
"Really," Severus stood back and crossed his arms over his chest, "and what was your curfew when you were sixteen, my dear?"  
  
Morgan shot him a positively wicked grin, "During the summer I didn't have to be in till 1, and you can see how well I turned out. Really Sev, you worry far too much. When the girls go out they're usually in a large group and all of their other friends have a later curfew. Would it kill you relax a little?"  
  
Severus raised an eyebrow as he looked down at his wife, "I thought that we had agreed I would set curfew and you would not interfere with my decision."  
  
Morgan widened her eyes in innocence as she tried not to smile at her husband's stern look, she was just as capable at working him over as her daughters were, "Sev, I'm not interfering, I'm just offering my opinion, you don't have to change your rules for me. I just thought that you would like to know that every other teenager in Hogsmeade has a later curfew than our children."  
  
"I know what you're doing, and it's not going to work," Severus leaned in closer to his wife, taking advantage of the large height difference between them, "besides, why should I take advice from a Gryffindor?"  
  
Morgan took her characteristic defensive stance and put her hands on her hips, "the fact that I was in Gryffindor didn't seem to bother you too much when you asked me to marry you so I don't know why you insist on bringing it up every time we disagree as a reason for why you don't like my side of the argument. Honestly Sev, that's probably the emptiest excuse that you could come up with."  
  
She narrowed her eyes as she saw that Sev was trying his best not to laugh at her, "Why do I let you provoke me like that every time?!"  
  
Severus allowed himself to laugh at his wife's outburst, "Because darling, I know exactly what it takes to get your feathers ruffled."  
  
Morgan rolled her eyes, "you do know how to get me going, although I should think that you would have learned by now that it is not prudent to provoke your wife. But, will you at least consider extending the kids' curfew, Sev?"  
  
"I will consider it, but I make no promises."  
  
"As long as you'll consider it," Morgan drew her husband in close and kissed him briefly. "Now, I have to go get some work done, my lesson plans aren't going to write themselves."  
  
Severus smiled as his wife left the room. It had been one of the happiest days of his life when she had started teaching at Hogwarts. It meant that they never had to be separated from each other, which hadn't been the case in the first few years of their marriage. Severus and Morgan had married nearly four years before Voldemort had been defeated for a second time. During the time period between their marriage and the downfall of the dark lord they had been forced to live apart. Severus had to keep teaching and it had been easier for Morgan and Viviane, who was the product of their first year of marriage, to remain at their home in Hogsmead.  
  
With the birth of Kamen in their third year of marriage and the twins the year after that, the separation became increasing hard for the Snape family to endure. With the defeat of Voldamort, there had been a heavy casualty list at Hogwarts. Along with the loss of Dumbledore, several other teachers had died in the final battle. One of the teaching positions that had been left open was that of Ancient Runes. Morgan had been asked to fill the position. This ensured that the Snape family no longer had to be separated. Although it took quite a bit of work and compromise, the entire Snape family moved into Hogwarts during the school year, allowing Severus to play a much larger roll in the lives of his children than he had in the preceding four years.  
  
Severus sat back down at his desk and began unthinkingly stacking papers as he thought about the years his family had spent at Hogwarts before any of his children had been old enough to be students there. He smiled at the memories. I had been an _interesting_ experience to say the least. Having several small children running around had made it a real challenge for Morgan and him to get lesson plans and grading done, but it had been worth the stressful workload. Severus delighted in every aspect of his children's lives as they were growing up. Although having them at Hogwarts had been difficult, he couldn't imagine how empty his life would have seemed if the children had continued to live in Hogsmead.  
  
Severus sighed as he focused once again on the work in front of him. The start of term was two weeks away, which meant that the teaching staff was expected to be back at Hogwarts early in the next week. He liked to have is lesson plans done well in advance, which meant that there was a lot of work left for him to get done.  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Dierna narrowed her eyes at her reflection on the full length mirror. She turned from side to side as she critically surveyed her reflection, trying to see herself as Stefan would. Her gentle curves and athletic figure were accented by her height. She was taller than her sisters and her mother. She smiled at herself in the mirror as she decided that she was happy with the way she looked. She had chosen to wear muggle clothing tonight and had on a long white skirt and a sleeveless turquoise top.  
  
She sighed happily as she glanced at the clock on the wall. Only twenty more minutes before Stefan would be here. This day was definitely starting to get better.  
  
"I'm amazed that the mirror hasn't shattered yet with someone as unappealingly nasty as you standing in front of it."  
  
Dierna picked up the closest small object, her hairbrush, and threw it at Kamen where he stood in the doorway.  
  
"I don't recall inviting you to come up here," she said through clenched teeth.  
  
"My darling little sister, you aren't still mad at me for earlier, are you?" Kamen grinned widely; provoking his sisters was a game to him, one that he was particularly good at. "Besides, I didn't come up here to talk to you. I came to see if my nice sister wants to come practice with me. I've come to the conclusion that practicing quidditch by yourself is a waste of time, and I was looking for a partner. How about it Ser? Or are you too busy watching Dierna primp?"  
  
Kamen narrowly avoided the book that Dierna had chosen as a projectile this time. "It appears that red heads really do have bad tempers."  
  
"Why don't you get out of my room now?!"  
  
"Alright, alright, I'm going. Are you coming Ser?"  
  
Serena tried to contain her laughter at the way her siblings were acting. "Yeah, I'll come practice with you." She left the window seat and quickly pulled on her shoes, "Let's go! I just hope you're ready for me, I have every intention of running you into the ground."  
  
"In your dreams, you're just lucky that you're able to practice with a superior quidditch play such as myself," Kamen smiled at the skeptic look Serena was giving him.  
  
"You really are delusional Kamen. We should send you to St. Mungo's to have that checked out."  
  
"Are you two leaving yet?" Dierna turned around from her position at the mirror to question the other two.  
  
"Yeah, we're going," Kamen decided it would probably be best to leave before Dierna really got mad at him, "just one more thing. How did you manage to talk your way around Dad this time?"  
  
Dierna waved a hand absently at Kamen, brushing his question off, "You know the answer to that Kamen, it's because I'm so sweet and angelic."  
  
Kamen laughed as he turned to leave, "that's so not true, if you're sweet and angelic, then I must be the minister of magic." He turned and held the door open for Serena, and then quickly exited before Dierna could throw something else.

* * *

In the gathering dusk two figures met in front of an old manor home. They both wore long black cloaks with hoods to mask their identity. One of the men was tall and thin while the other was short and rather portly.  
  
The tall man spoke, "What do you make of this summoning?"  
  
His companion answered him as he slowly shook his head, "It makes me uneasy, but I feel that it is necessary to the cause."  
  
The two men looked up as they heard someone coming up the path. The third figure joined them, and silently ran his hand over the family crest that decorated the high wall, which ran around the old estate.  
  
The new arrival was attired in the same manner as the other men. The three of them knew that they were all united in the name of the cause. But they didn't always know who their fellow members were.  
The newly arrived member spoke softly, "This may be our only chance to avenge the fallen dark lord. I only wonder if everyone is prepared for the consequences, should we fail."  
  
The tall figure quickly answered, "This time we shall be victorious, there is no one to stand in our way."  
  
The short figure shook his head again, despite the cover of the growing darkness and the cloak which hid his features he was still nervous, "No," he answered sadly, "There is still the boy who lived, he could cause us problems. But we must succeed in our mission, or He will make sure that we suffer for our errors."

* * *

Nimue closed the book she had been reading all afternoon. She didn't play quidditch like the twins or her brother, and she didn't lead the busy social lives that they did. She was by far the quiet one in the family. Even quieter than her oldest sister Viviane.  
  
In truth, Nimue missed Viviane a great deal. The two of them had shared a room when Viviane still lived at home, and Nimue had almost hero- worshipped her oldest sister. Viviane had graduated from Hogwarts two years ago, and was currently living and working in Wales. Nimue and Viviane had very similar personalities, and were much more subdued and calm than their middle three siblings, who lived their lives in a whirl of chaos.  
  
Nimue pushed a stray strand of her straight soft brown hair behind her ear as she stood up. Although she thrived on quiet and solitude she felt restless today. She was ready for the school term to start. Her rambunctious siblings were not her first choice of company in most cases. She longed for her group of friends at school who shared the same quiet demeanor that she herself possessed.  
  
She sighed; there was nothing that really interested her at the moment. She liked to be kept busy, the summer just seemed to drag out, and left Nimue bored and listless. Plus, after what had happened last week, she didn't even feel like going into town for diversion.  
  
Nimue picked her book back up; maybe she would go read in her father's study for awhile. He didn't mind when she did that. He often said that he preferred her quiet company to working alone. Nimue headed out of the library and headed down the hall to Severus' study. She quietly slipped in the door and walked over to an over sized chair that sat by her father's desk.  
  
Severus looked up briefly as his youngest entered his study. Although as a parent of multiple children he would never admit to having a favorite, Nimue did hold a special place in his heart. After all, she was the youngest, and she was the best behaved of all his children. Not that the behavior, good or bad, of his children influenced the amount of love he felt for them. It was just that he could count the number of times he had had to raise his voice with Nimue on one hand, while he seriously doubted there was a number high enough to count the number of times he had lost his patience with Dierna, Serena, and Kamen.  
  
There was another reason why Nimue was the closest to being Severus' favorite was that he saw her as his child. When she was born Morgan had become very ill. She was laid up for two months before she was even allowed out of bed. During that time Severus had somehow managed to look after the children on his own. During that two month period he had kept Nimue with him constantly. He had not been able to spend that kind of time with his other children when they were that little and it left a lasting impression on him. During that time Nimue, in his eyes, became solely his child. He was more than happy to share the other children with Morgan. But Nimue was his daughter.  
  
"Dad?"  
  
Severus looked up from his work, "what is it sweetheart?"  
  
"Oh... never mind."  
  
Severus continued to watch his daughter for a moment, even though she had returned her attention to her book. He could tell that something was bothering her, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to push her to talk. Years of parenting had taught him that each of his children would respond to him in very different ways. For instance, Nimue would get tears in her eyes even when he scolded her gently, while Dierna would rise to the challenge and become incredibly argumentative and aggressive whenever he confronted her.  
  
He considered his choice of words with great care. His youngest daughter tended to be very sensitive, and the sight of female tears was more than Severus could handle. He had absolutely no idea what to do when his girls cried. Female emotions were the one thing that Severus was scared of, and the abundance of estrogen in his household had taught him to fear it even more.  
  
"Nimue, sweetheart, is there something you wish to discuss with me?"  
  
"Ummmm, I don't know... I guess I was just wondering when were going to move back into Hogwarts." Nimue quickly dipped her head back down and stared at the book in her lap without really seeing it.  
  
Severus was concerned; he knew that his other children were constantly complaining about how short the summer was. Nimue, on the other hand, could hardly wait to go back. He worried about his youngest daughter. She hadn't seemed very happy at home all summer. And she had become increasingly quiet and had drawn into herself a great deal in the last week or so. Severus hoped that she would be happier when school started again and she was back with her school friends.  
  
"We will return to Hogwarts on Sunday."  
  
"Six more days," Nimue whispered softly under her breath.  
  
Severus resisted the temptation to react too quickly; he could hear the strain in his daughter's voice. Something was not right. "Nimue, what is wrong?" Severus got up and walked over to where Nimue was sitting; he pulled up a footstool and sat directly in front of his daughter.  
  
Nimue frowned at her lap, but remained silent. She wasn't sure of the best way to answer that question. In truth, there were several things that were bothering her. She just wasn't sure of the best way to voice her uncertainties.  
  
"Look at me Nimue." Severus commanded softly. He waited until Nimue lifted her head up enough to meet his gaze before he continued gently, "If there is something that is bothering you, I want you to feel free to talk to me or your mother about it," he paused for a brief moment. "But, I do not want you to retreat back into yourself and grow distant. You have already started to do that this summer, and I feel partly responsible for that. I should have talked to you sooner about the way I feel about your continued silence and the way that you have secluded yourself in the library for almost the entire summer."  
  
Nimue dropped her eyes, and debated exactly what she should tell her father. "It's just that I've been bored lately, and I want school to start again so that I have something to do."  
  
Severus didn't think that Nimue's answer was complete. He still thought that there was something bothering her. He gently took her chin in his hand and raised her head up until he could see her eyes. "Nimue, I love you. Do not ever doubt that, but I worry about you. Now, I am going to drop this subject, but I want you to talk to me if you need to, understood?"  
  
"Yes sir," Nimue fought back tears as she lowered her head again. She just couldn't tell him what was really bothering her, it was complicated and it scared her. She could feel the tears stinging her eyes, and her throat felt as though it was closing. She gratefully accepted the handkerchief that her father pressed into her hand before he returned to his desk.  
  
Severus sat back down behind his desk, desperately hoping he had handled that situation right. There were times when his daughters put him completely out of his element, and this had been one of those times. Unfortunately his girls rarely opened up to their mother. On most occasions they ran to him with their problems.  
  
Not that he minded being there for his daughters when they wanted to talk, but the female emotions always disoriented him and often left him wondering if he had handled the various situations in the best way possible.  
  
Severus debated what to do next. He opted to retreat for awhile in order to give Nimue time to compose herself again. Severus headed toward the library, and then changed his mind. He had a feeling that it would probably be a good idea to check on Dierna before she went out. He wasn't overly pleased with his decision to extend her curfew for the night and felt the need to lay down the law before she went out.  
  
Severus climbed the elaborate staircase in the main hall and headed down to the twins' room. The door was open, Severus stepped in and watched Dierna as she continued to brush her hair in front of the mirror, oblivious to the fact that he had entered the room. "Dierna," he saw the surprise in her face as she quickly looked up and turned around to face him. Severus took in his daughter's outfit. He did not like the lack of sleeves on her shirt.  
  
"You will, of course, be wearing something over that shirt you have on," it was a command not a question.  
  
"But Dad, its not..." Dierna trailed off, she decided that the look her father was giving her was not one to be messed with. "Yes sir."  
  
"There is one more thing, I know that you have been going out with Stefan a great deal lately, but it has often been in a group setting. I expect that your behavior when you are alone with him will be nothing that I would have reason to question. This means that..."  
  
"Dad, I promise, I won't do anything with Stefan that I don't do when we're with the group." Although Dierna knew her father liked Stefan, she also knew that he didn't like the idea of her having a boyfriend. He also appeared to be completely opposed to her having any physical contact whatsoever with the opposite sex.  
  
Severus found that he didn't particularly like this response; it was rather vague for him. "Remember, not one minute late coming in or..."  
  
"I know, I know, or I'll be grounded till school starts. I'll be fine Dad, stop worrying." She quickly grabbed a lightweight sweater and pulled it on. "So, do I pass inspection now?"  
  
Severus found that the temptation to lock his daughter in her room until she was married rather overpowering. "Your appearance is more acceptable, but I want you to promise me..."  
  
"Don't worry Dad, I won't do anything scandalous. So, can I go now?"  
  
Severus searched for some excuse to tell his daughter to keep her from going out, but knew that she would see right through it. "Go, and make sure you behave yourself."  
  
"Bye Dad!" Dierna quickly hugged her father and ran out of the room to tell her mother that she was leaving.  
  
Severus headed back down to his study. He wasn't ready to admit that his children were growing up.  
  
Dierna bounded down the stairs and had the door open before Stefan had a chance to knock. Stefan beamed down at his girlfriend. He was a tall young man, with dark brown hair and dark eyes. Dierna knew that she loved him; he would always be the only one for her.  
  
Stefan reached down to grab Dierna around the waist and pulled her close to him for a kiss. She was the most amazing girl he had ever met. And even though he had graduated and was out on his own, he knew that he would never find another woman who could lay such a firm claim to his heart as the auburn beauty who stood in his grasp. He didn't ever want to let her go.  
  
"Are you ready to go out doll?"  
  
"I'm always ready to go out with you," Dierna could feel herself melting as Stefan pulled her in even closer. She closed her eyes for a brief moment as she leaned against him. When she was with Stefan everything seemed right in the world, it was a feeling that she didn't ever want to end.  
  
"My parents are out of town this week, so I thought that I would make you dinner at their house, does that sound good to you?"  
  
Dierna's eyes widened in appreciation of what Stefan would do for her. He hated to cook; he hardly ever cooked for himself, even though he was living on his own now. "Anything that I do with you is wonderful."  
  
The two of the walked down the path together, hand in hand, as the sun began to set in a magnificent display of color. The night was theirs.

* * *

Kamen tossed the quaffle from one hand to the other while he decided on the best way to practice. He was a chaser and Serena was a beater for their house quidditch team. This made coordinating a practice with just the two of them rather difficult. It would be easier if Dierna was here too. Since she was also a chaser it made it fairly convenient for the three siblings to practice together. But with her out on a date they would have to improvise.  
  
"How about you play as a chaser with me so that I can try out some new strategies I've come up with."  
  
"How about I actually practice being a beater, since that's what I am?"  
  
"And how is that supposed to help me practice?"  
  
Serena rolled her eyes at her brother's response. Typical. He wanted her to come practice with him, but she wasn't going to get in any practice that pertained to her position. Why did Kamen do stuff like this to her? Serena considered it to be typical male logic. They only thought of themselves and assumed that everything they did was amazing.  
  
Sometimes she really hated her brother.  
  
"Come on Ser, we're losing light and I wanna run through all of these maneuvers."  
  
"Fine, just tell me what to do," Serena tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice. She hated it when he shortened her name to "Ser". She was not very happy with her brother at the moment.  
  
Kamen directed Serena through the chaser moves he had designed, constantly criticizing her for her lack of technique. Serena was trying to suppress her rage, and was trying not to think about exactly what she was going to do to her brother once they were both on the ground.  
  
"You know Ser, we should probably work on your beater technique for a while, you could really use my help. I'd be happy to show you the right way to do things."  
  
Serena was seething. She was instantly back down on the ground and started walking back to the house.  
  
"Hey Ser! What's wrong? You know this kind of quitter attitude won't get you very far on the quidditch team this year."  
  
Serena whirled around to face her brother, her face dark with rage. "First, you are not the team captain so I don't need you telling me what I need to do to improve my game. Second, you are a chaser, I am a beater, I don't tell you how to play your game, and you don't tell me how to play mine. And third, if you ever treat me like this again I will take your head off with a bludger during our first game!" She turned on her heel and continued into the house leaving Kamen staring after her in shock.  
  
Serena dropped her quidditch gear in the hallway in front of the library, then entered the room and began to pace furiously. 


	3. Chapter 3

Severus looked through the neatly stacked books and papers on his desk, but noticed that the one book he needed was not there. He sighed; the way things had gone today he had gotten hardly any work done. Aside from the duties that were required of him as a teacher he continued to do research on the side. One of the most successful of his research projects that he had worked on was the Wolfsbane potion that he continued to make for his colleague, Remus Lupin.  
  
His current project, although not nearly as interesting as the Wolfsbane project, was important nonetheless. He got up from his desk and headed out of his study. The book he needed was in the library.  
  
Severus paused in front of the door to the library and looked at the pile of quidditch gear lying on the floor. He absolutely hated it when his children left things lying around like that. He could feel his headache returning.  
  
Severus side stepped the pile of quidditch gear on the floor, but paused again when he saw that Serena was in the library, visibly angry.  
  
He entered the room and began without preamble, "I have told you before that I do not want your quidditch supplies left lying around all over the house. You will put them away now."  
  
"They are not "lying all over the house", they're in one neat pile," Serena made no attempt to keep the bitterness out of her voice; she was too angry right now. She stopped her pacing and sat down moodily on the couch, clutching a pillow to her chest.  
  
Severus walked over to the nearest bookshelf and scanned the titles for the one he was looking for. "I don't particularly like your tone of voice young lady, and I believe I told you to pick up your things."  
  
"I'll do it later."  
  
"You will do it now, and furthermore, I do not appreciate the attitude I am getting from you right now."  
  
"You can blame Kamen for my attitude, he is such a jerk!"  
  
"Young lady, you are responsible for your own attitude, and I will not be spoken to in that manner."  
  
Serena lay back on the couch, took the pillow she was holding and held it over her face. She screamed into the pillow. Why couldn't she just be left alone right now?!  
  
Severus waited for the muffled scream to end. He located the book he had come in for and took it down from the bookshelf. He waited for Serena to emerge from under the pillow.  
  
Serena slowly lowered the pillow from her face and chanced a glance at her father. He did not look happy.  
  
"When you feel that you are finished with your childish tantrum you will pick up your belongings and put them away. Then, when you have calmed down enough to be reasonable we are going to have a long discussion about your attitude." Severus turned and exited the library. This felt like the longest day of his life, and his headache had definitely returned in full force.  
  
Serena sat up and clutched the pillow to her chest before burying her face in it. Maybe if she was lucky she would be able to avoid her father for the rest of the evening. He was always in such a horrible mood right before the start of the school term.

* * *

Dierna sighed as she leaned against Stefan. They were sitting on a bench outside, the cool evening air was soft and carried the faintest sent of wildflowers.  
  
Stefan looked down at Dierna as she snuggled up to him. He loved her, but knew that he could not tell her that now. It would have to wait. He sighed, that, he thought, is one of the draw backs of having a girlfriend who was still in school. But, as far as he was concerned, it was the only drawback. He knew that he could never rush Dierna into anything; all he could do was hold her close and wait.  
  
"Want to go for a walk?"  
  
Dierna leaned back to look into his eyes and asked not very innocently, "Is that all we're gonna do, walk?"  
  
Stefan laughed as he pulled Dierna to her feet, "Oh no you don't." He leaned down to whisper in her ear, "I don't exactly relish the thought of having your father come after me. This will have to be kept totally innocent if you want the both of us to live past tomorrow."  
  
Dierna leaned into Stefan as they started to walk together, and wrapped her arm around his waist. She sighed contentedly when she felt his protective arm slide around her shoulders. She didn't care what they did or didn't do with one another as long as they could simply be together.

* * *

Serena got up off the couch and gently placed the pillow back down. Her hands were shaking. She was furious with her brother for being a jerk and for getting her so mad, she was furious with her father for not leaving her alone when she was angry, but she was angriest with herself for letting her temper get out of control the way it had.  
  
She needed her mother.  
  
Serena, left the library, but left her quidditch supplies where they lay. She found that she was close to tears and knew that her mother would be able to calm her down.  
  
Serena headed towards the kitchen, she knew that her mother had been working in there earlier, and hoped that she would still be there. Serena entered the large, high-ceilinged kitchen and saw that her mother was sitting on a long bench on one side of the kitchen table, papers spread out around her.  
  
Morgan looked up when her daughter entered the room. She could instantly tell that something was bothering her raven haired girl. "Come sit by me sweetheart and have a cup of tea."  
  
Serena moved across the wide kitchen slowly and slid onto the bench next to her mother, but shook her head at the offered mug of tea. "I don't feel like any right now. I wanted to know when we were going to Diagon Alley to get school supplies."  
  
Morgan eyed her daughter knowingly, she was avoiding what was really bothering her, "Not tomorrow, because Auntie Graine and Uncle Bill are going to stop by for a quick visit. And I promised Graine that I'd go shopping with her later this week, so I'll probably have your father take you day after tomorrow. Now, do you want to tell me what's really wrong hon?"  
  
Serena leaned her head against her mother's shoulder, "I'm trying to stay away from Dad right now," she admitted softly.  
  
"Why don't you tell me what happened. I think it will make you feel better."  
  
Serena poured the whole story out, from how Kamen had provoked her and made her lose her temper, to her angry words to her father. She felt a few tears run down her face as she finished her narrative. Serena was truly ashamed of the way she had acted and was still mad at herself for letting her anger control her.  
  
Morgan wrapped her arms around her daughter and gently stroked her silky black hair. She felt that she really should scold her daughter for her earlier behavior, but knew that it would be best if she remained neutral in this situation. Long ago she and Sev had made a pact. Whenever one of them laid down a rule or punished one of the children the other parent would not interfere. Morgan knew that it would be best if she left this situation in Sev's capable hands. "You know hon; I have a feeling this isn't going to be as bad as you're thinking. Your father has become a lot softer in terms of strictness and discipline over the years. He's nowhere near as bad as he used to be."  
  
"Mum, you have got to be kidding, I mean, he's way harsher on us kids than you are."  
  
Morgan looked down at her daughter's tear streaked face, "just because I'm a bit more laid back than your father is doesn't mean he hasn't softened up quite a bit. Remember, I had your father as my potions professor too. He was quite a bit stricter then. He's just a big softy now." Morgan smiled gently as she brushed a damp strand of hair out of her daughter's eyes. "Don't worry darling, your father and I love you no matter what, and I promise that I'll be here should you need a shoulder to cry on later."  
  
"Thanks Mum," Serena settled in and moved closer to her mother, who put an arm around Serena as she continued to work. They stayed in that peaceful position for quite some time.

* * *

"Nimue, why don't you head up to bed, you look like you're about ready to fall asleep in that chair."  
  
Nimue looked up at her father and realized that she really was exhausted. But she didn't feel like she was ready to leave the sanctuary his study provided her. After what she had experienced in Hogsmead the week before she had no desire to be left alone. "I'm alright Dad really, I'm not tired."  
  
Severus looked up from the papers he had just finished sorting, "Go to bed before you fall asleep sitting there."  
  
Nimue sighed, she would be alright. Nothing could harm her at home; at least she hoped that nothing could harm her at home. She laid her book down on an end table and headed out of the study, she paused at the door.  
  
"G'night Dad."  
  
"Goodnight Nimue."  
  
Severus bent back over his work, intent on finishing before it got too late  
  
Nimue trudged up the stairs slowly, hoping that sheer exhaustion would get her past the mounting fear that she felt.  
  
Severus glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 10:30, which meant he had been working steadily for the last hour with no interruptions. It amazed him. He hardly ever got that kind of time to himself during the summer; usually he was constantly being interrupted by his children.  
  
10:30, he frowned at the clock. He had told Serena that he wanted to talk with her nearly two hours ago. He sighed, if he was going to speak with his daughter he would have to find her himself.

* * *

Numerous black cloaked figures filed into the dimly lit room. It was a rather ghastly looking room; it was damp and cold, even though the late summer evening was warm.  
  
When all had assembled the figures began to slowly lower the hoods that had covered their faces. Many of the names present were those associated with the reign of Lord Voldamort: Macnair, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, along with many other names associated with the dark lord. But, although the names were the same, many of the faces were different. In some cases the original Death Eaters had returned. But many of the men currently there were the descendants of those who had fallen with the defeat of Voldamort.  
  
A man with white blond hair stepped forward out of the shadows. "Greetings my followers. I trust that you are ready for the task that lies before you. Especially as there is no one to stand in our way this time."  
  
"But sir, what of Potter? Surely he is still a threat to us."  
  
The man with white blond hair, who was the obvious leader of the group turned quickly to face the man who had spoken and sneered, "Potter? He is nothing, especially with Dumbledore gone. He will be of little consequence to us. We will succeed; there is no one powerful enough to stand up to us. Those mudblood lovers will pay dearly, as will those who turned on our dark lord." He smiled, the effect made him look even more menacing, "We will make sure that they will pay dearly for our grievances."

* * *

Severus moved put of his study, intent on finding Serena. He stopped to check the library, but found it empty. However, her quidditch gear was still lying in front of the library. That did nothing to improve his mood. He moved towards the stairs, perhaps she was in her room.  
  
Severus checked the twins' room, it too was empty. He sighed wearily. Why was it that his children seemed to disappear when he wanted to find them? Severus stopped before heading back down the stairs. While he was up here he might as well check on Nimue.  
  
He slowly opened the door to his youngest daughter's room. She had fallen asleep on her bed with her clothes still on. Severus moved quietly over to his sleeping daughter and pulled a blanket over her. He then leaned down and gently pressed a kiss to the top of her head and smoothed her hair back out of her face. He extinguished the candles before heading back out of the room to continue his search for Serena.  
  
Severus reached the bottom of the stairs and debated where to look next till he heard the voices in the kitchen. He moved swiftly in that direction, but paused in the doorway. Serena was leaning against Morgan and the two of them were talking quietly.  
  
Serena felt so safe when she was in her mother's embrace. She had finally accepted a mug of tea and cradled it in her hands as she leaned against her mother. Perhaps she would head up to bed and hopefully put off that conversation with Dad until tomorrow.  
  
Morgan looked up from her daughter and noticed her husband standing in the doorway. He raised an eyebrow at her. Morgan nodded back silently and gently nudged her daughter. Serena looked up and noticed her father standing in the doorway. He raised a hand and motioned for her to come to him.  
  
Serena looked at her mother, the urgency apparent in her eyes, "Please Mum, can't I..."  
  
"Shhhhh..." Morgan gently hushed her daughter, "go, I'll be here if you need me later."  
  
Serena quickly wiped the back of her hand across her face, which was still slightly damp with her earlier tears. She could tell that her eyes were probably red and puffy, but found that it really didn't matter. She was to distraught to worry about anything but what her father had to say to her.  
  
Serena slid off of the bench and moved slowly to stand in front of her father, all the while keeping her eyes firmly focused on the ground. Expecting to be yelled at she was surprised at the quietness and the apparent calmness with which her father addressed her.  
  
"Serena," she looked up tentatively when her father spoke her name. Severus expected respect from his children, which meant they were to look at the person speaking to them, not at the floor. Severus continued speaking as soon as he was sure that he had Serena's full attention, "You will go put away your quidditch supplies, which I was none to pleased to find still laying in the hallway, then you will wait for me in my study." He stepped back and held the door open for his daughter as she exited the kitchen, then moved towards his wife.  
  
Severus sank down in a chair opposite Morgan at the kitchen table. He propped his elbows on the table and buried his face in his hands, his head was throbbing. "Why do they do this every year? Right before school starts it feels like all hell breaks loose in our home. Sometimes I swear our children will be the death of me."  
  
Morgan smiled gently, "I have a feeling it is because it's their last week of summer. Our children have always had to return to school a week earlier than their friends. They're probably acting out on that and getting all of their pent up energy out of their systems before they go back to school." She gently reached for her husband's hands and held them in her own. "Sev, you are a loving and capable father, be thankful that you can handle anything our children can throw at you."  
  
"You are right my dear," Severus smiled gently at his wife, "you always are, but you have to admit, your children can be incredibly difficult at times."  
  
"_My_ children, Severus Snape! Why is it that they are _my_ children when they misbehave, but they are _your_ children when they act like angels?"  
  
Severus took in the affronted look his wife was giving him and answered her calmly, "Because my dear, you know perfectly well that you do the exact same thing."  
  
Morgan opened her mouth to protest, but promptly closed it again. He was right. Morgan knew that whenever her children acted up she referred to them as their father's children, while when they were good she was more than happy to say that they were her children.  
  
Morgan gently shook her head to clear her thoughts, then took a deep breath and proceeded calmly, "Sev, Serena is probably waiting for you by now. The longer you make her wait the more nervous that poor child is going to get. Go talk to her, but please remember to take a deep breath and count to ten before you decide anything."  
  
Severus gently removed his hands from his wife's grasp and stood up. "Do you remember, dearest, what happened to you the first time you gave me that piece of advice?"  
  
Morgan felt her face flush and rolled her eyes. "I would have thought that you would have forgotten that by now..." her voice softened at the memory. She tilted her head to the side and looked at her husband, her brown eyes sparkling mischievously, "I believe that I ended up in detention with a certain overly strict potions master just because I offered him a little useful advice."  
  
"Really? Because I remember it slightly different from that. I recall a rather sassy seventh year Gryffindor telling me the best way to deal with her when she was caught down in the dungeons after hours." Severus sighed, "I wonder what ever happened to that impudent student...."  
  
Morgan winked at her husband, "I think I know what happened. Last I heard she had married the man of her dreams and was busy with five wonderful children."  
  
Severus smiled, "Do you think that she is happy with her life?"  
  
Morgan returned the smile as she felt her heart melting for the man she loved, "She couldn't be happier, her life is as close to perfection as one can get." Morgan glanced at her watch, "and you better get going or your daughter is going to perish from the unnecessary suspense you're putting her through. You're not as tough as you like to have our children think you are."  
  
Severus smiled as he nodded his head in response and exited the kitchen; his customary black robes swirling around him as he turned sharply on his heal. Morgan sighed, it was amazing the things that her husband did to her heart, every time she looked at him she fell in love all over again. 


	4. Chapter 4

Stefan thought that this had to be the most beautiful night of the summer. The moon was bright and the stars were shining majestically. He held Dierna's small hand in his while his mind wandered. He had his future all planned out. As soon as she graduated he had every intention of marrying her. That was almost two years away. But he was more than happy to wait, because he loved his darling Adelaide.  
  
Stefan smiled at the darkness, he was the only one Dierna allowed to call her by her given name. If anyone else tried it her deep green eyes would flash, the gold flecks in them would glitter dangerously. It was true; he thought absently, redheads really did have dangerous tempers. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing as long as their anger wasn't directed at him.  
  
He leaned in close to Dierna, "We've walked a long way, we should start heading back if I'm going to have you home on time."  
  
"Oh, Stefan, the night is so beautiful, let's stay out here forever."  
  
He pulled Dierna in close to him and kissed her softly. "I don't want you to get in trouble because I kept you out to late. Besides I have a feeling your father wouldn't be overly thrilled with me if I did that. But, we can walk very slowly, and enjoy this evening to the fullest."  
  
Dierna pulled Stefan back into her and kissed him. He was so good to her.

* * *

Serena was pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace in her father's study. Where was he? She had just decided leave and was headed to the door when her father walked in the room. He was scowling. Not good. Serena could see why most of the student's at Hogwarts feared her father.  
  
Severus moved to stand in front of the unlit fireplace and pointed at the couch which sat in front of him, "sit." He often wondered if he acted too much the teacher at home and whether or not it hindered him as a parent. All he could do was perform his role as an authority figure the best way he knew how, often drawing from his years of teaching experience.  
  
Serena moved in the direction her father had commanded her, but paused to stand in front of him. She took a deep breath, she could do this. "Dad, I'm really sorry for the way I spoke to you earlier. I shouldn't have taken out my anger on you like that. I...I..." she faltered at the cold look her father was giving her, "I'm sorry for my earlier behavior and I..."  
  
Severus cut her off, "sit down." Serena quickly sat down on the sofa, but did not take her eyes off of her father; she knew she was treading a very fine line. She looked up at where her father stood above her, "exactly how much trouble am I in?"  
  
Severus raised an eyebrow at his daughter, and then sat down beside her, "that all depends..."  
  
"On what?" Serena looked at him apprehensively.  
  
"On how the rest of this conversation goes."  
  
"Oh..." Serena picked up a pillow and held it in her lap, concentrating on it, not sure she wanted to look up.  
  
Severus examined his daughter while she absently smoothed the pillow in her lap. He could tell she had been crying, and he could tell that her apology had been sincere. However, one of the things he hated the most was being talked back to, especially when he was already not in the best of moods. "You have a tendency to let your anger control you. I find that kind of behavior to be absolutely unacceptable. You will work at controlling your temper and you will not talk anyone in the manner in which you spoke to me earlier. I will not tolerate it." He paused briefly to see if his daughter would respond. After seeing that she was going to remain silent he continued, "Do you know why I find that sort of behavior unacceptable?"  
  
Serena took a deep breath then hurriedly recited the lecture she had gotten before, "because you want me to be the kind of person that can be respected and can show respect to others. That I must learn to control my temper, because if I can't control myself I will never earn the respect of others."  
  
Serena continued to smooth the pillow in her lap, she had already cried once, she would not do it again, but her eyes were stinging nonetheless. She was truly sorry, and ashamed of the way she had acted earlier.  
  
Severus thought for a long moment about how he was going to handle this situation, he considered the factors that had come into play, he also thought about the advice Morgan had given him. Severus gave himself a moment to calm down, "I will admit that I have not been in the best of moods all day, and you, young lady, were not at your best this afternoon. I think that we both took out our anger on each other. So, I am prepared to end this conversation now, and say nothing more about it for the time being. But I will not be pleased should this happen again."  
  
Serena nodded her head slowly in wonderment. It really wasn't anywhere near as bad as she had been expecting, Mum had been right. "I really am sorry Dad; I can't believe I acted like that."  
  
Severus put an arm around his daughter and pulled her in close to him, "I know that you are sorry my little English Rose, no... not so little anymore I suppose. But you need to learn how to control that temper of yours; I want you to grow into a gracious and respected woman. I only want what is best for you." He held her close to him for a moment and gently brushed her straight black hair out of her face.  
  
Out of his four daughters she was the only one who had inherited his coloring. But, she had her mother's delicate facial features. Severus was proud of the fact that all of his children were attractive looking, although it made him rather nervous when he considered the reaction many of the teenage boys had where his daughters were concerned. Luckily, at school his presence was enough to dissuade most would be admirers.  
  
He looked down at his English Rose, she had relaxed considerably, and although she was still absently playing with the pillow in her lap, she looked much more at ease than she had earlier. He didn't want his children to fear him. He wanted respect, but never fear. He had experienced that in his own childhood and wanted better for his family. He put his arms around his daughter and hugged her close. "And now, I think its time that you headed up to bed, its getting late."  
  
Serena leaned against her father and accepted the warm hug he gave her. She would work on her temper; she wanted him to be proud of her. But she didn't feel like heading up yet, it wasn't overly late, she opened her mouth to speak, but her father cut her off before she could begin.  
  
"Now, to bed, and no protests," Severus released his daughter and saw her out of the room. He glanced at the clock, almost another hour before Dierna would be back, and there was no way he would consider turning in before he saw that she was home safely.

* * *

_The figures in black were moving in on her. The voices, they seemed so familiar, but she couldn't place them. Their conversation was so disturbing. Death. Revenge. Annihilation. A new reign in memory of their dark lord. They would strike at those who had betrayed them. They would have their revenge. No one to stand in their way. But what could she do to stop them. It didn't matter now, it was too late._  
  
Nimue sat up in bed, she was shaking. It was too real. Nightmares had plagued her since the week before. The figures were the ones she had seen in Hogsmead, but she didn't know who they were or what they were planning. She just knew that something was going to happen. And it wouldn't be good.

* * *

Severus moved toward the kitchen in search of his wife. Two of his children were in bed, presumably. He found that unless they were right in front of him there was no telling what exactly his children would find to get into. Dierna was still out. That was a thorn in his side. Severus found that he had been wishing she would come home early. It certainly would have put his mind to rest. And Kamen... where was Kamen? Not a good sign. Severus hadn't seen his son since the afternoon; he only hoped it didn't mean more trouble.  
  
Severus entered the kitchen, Morgan was alone. Good. Perhaps now he would get a few minutes alone with his wife, without fear of interruption.  
  
Morgan smiled at Severus as he entered the kitchen. She had been hoping he would seek her out. She moved around the kitchen table quickly, and embraced her husband.  
  
Severus sighed as Morgan embraced him. He wrapped his arms around his petit wife, she was so small. The top of her head barely reached his shoulders. It felt so good to hold her; she was such a perfect fit in his arms. He leaned his head down and kissed her passionately.  
  
"Oh god!!! My virgin eyes! My retinas are burning! I have been blinded by the most horrific sight in the world! Let me die now before I am forced to witness any more of this appalling scene!"  
  
"Kamen," Severus growled, "That is quite enough of that."  
  
Kamen clutched his chest dramatically, and staggered, backing up into a row of cabinets, "Come on Dad! I come in here to get a quick snack and what do I see? Possibly the most horrendous scene ever to befall mankind. My parents kissing! I honestly think that I am scarred for life."  
  
"Then would you just grab something to eat and go to bed?" Severus felt like he was just about ready to lose his mind. Would he never get an uninterrupted moment alone with his wife?  
  
"I think I've changed my mind about that snack. I lost my appetite after that shocking display of affection. But I'm definitely leaving. I'm gonna go try to erase that mental image from my mind, although I have a feeling its going to come back and haunt me in the form of a terrifying nightmare tonight."  
  
"Kamen..." Severus was desperately trying to refrain from losing his patience. His son was not making this easy.  
  
"I'm going, I'm going... although I think that you might want to consider having a little more sympathy now that you may have seriously traumatized me for the rest of my life..."  
  
"Kamen!"  
  
Kamen quickly retreated out of the kitchen, no point messing with short tempered parents. Besides, he had a sister due home from a date anytime now. That would make for a bit of fun. He grinned widely.

* * *

Dierna slowly walked up the path with Stefan. She didn't want the night to end. She was so content, so happy. Plus, there would only be a few more days that they could spend together before she had to return to Hogwarts. After that they would have to rely on letters and the few Hogsmead trips for contact. She sighed dejectedly; it just wouldn't be the same.  
  
Stefan looked down at Dierna when she sighed. He had a fairly good idea of what she was thinking. They had become a couple the year before. Although they hadn't been in the same house at Hogwarts they had been able to see each other nearly every day at school and they had continued to see each other frequently this summer. All that would change next week. Stefan tightened his grip on Dierna's hand. He wasn't ready to be separated from her like that. And, it would be a real test for their relationship. How well would they be able to handle having that amount of space between them?  
  
They were quickly approaching the Snape home. Neither of the teens felt ready to let go of their companion. Stefan checked his watch. 12:25. He had a few minutes left. In just seemed like they never had enough time together.  
  
They paused when they reached the front door. Stefan took both of Dierna's hands in his own and looked down at her. She looked absolutely gorgeous in the moonlight. He felt his heart do a strange flip-flop as he drew her into him for a long embrace.  
  
Dierna smiled contentedly when Stefan's arms went around her, however she wanted more. She turned her face up, and gently pulled Stefan down to her level to kiss him with all the passion she felt.  
  
Severus was pacing in front of the dining room window. It gave him the best view of the path leading up to the front door. Where on earth could his daughter be? He checked his watch for about the hundredth time. She still had a few minutes. He looked up again. A sigh of relief. Dierna and Stefan were walking up to the house now.  
  
He watched as the couple approached the front door, waiting very impatiently for his daughter to come in. He felt a twinge of annoyance when Stefan embraced his daughter. That feeling quickly increased to infuriation when he saw his daughter kiss the boy. That was it. He was going to go out there and drag Dierna in.  
  
He moved quickly toward the entry way. Dierna came in the door before he got there. She was positively glowing.  
  
"What were you doing out there?!"  
  
Dierna looked at her father in shock, "what are you talking about?" She searched her mind, trying to come up with something that she could have done to upset him. She was home on time so he couldn't be mad at her for breaking curfew.  
  
"I told you that your behavior was to be above reproach. What I saw was completely unacceptable. I am extremely disappointed in your behavior. What were you thinking Adelaide?" He was livid.  
  
So, he must have been watching them through the window. He was probably upset about the kiss, it was infuriating the way he was treating her, "You were watching us?! How can you be angry with me for something that wasn't even that bad when you were spying on us?" Dierna could feel her own temper rising. How dare he spy on her and Stefan! They hadn't even done anything wrong.  
  
"You kissed him! You have really crossed the line this time young lady. You are only 16, that kind of behavior is not tolerable. I am offended that a daughter of mine would act in such a shameful way." He glowered at her.  
  
Dierna was not ready to back down. She honestly believed that she had done nothing that deserved this kind of reaction from her father. "I am not going to discuss this with you because you are being completely unreasonable. I have done nothing wrong and you are treating me like I have completely disgraced you! I am going to bed now." She stood her ground bravely and raised her chin. She would not be weak, she would not back down.  
  
"Young lady, you will not go anywhere! This conversation is not over, and I am nowhere near finished with you yet." His voice was harsh and his glare cold. He was not going to let his daughter off easy this time. Her attitude and the way she was speaking to him were not to be tolerated. He really was going to lock her in her room until she was married.  
  
Dierna glared at her father, "What do you find so offensive about me kissing my boyfriend? I see nothing wrong with that. And I see no reason in talking about this when I have done nothing to warrant your anger! Mum will agree with me! Why don't you ask her about this before you start yelling at me for no reason?!"  
  
"You are way out of line young lady, and do not bring your mother into this when this conversation is between you and me. Tomorrow we will discuss the fact that you will not be allowed to see Stefan anymore. You are grounded indefinitely, now go to your room!" Why was it that his own daughter could infuriate him more quickly and to a greater degree than an entire class of incompetent first years?  
  
Dierna turned and rushed up the stairs. He was so unreasonable sometimes! She resisted the temptation to slam her bedroom door. She quickly changed into her pajamas, and sat down on the window seat and began absently drumming her fingers against the window pane. Hopefully sleep would not be long in coming. It would provide her with an escape from the rage she was feeling.

* * *

Severus wearily mounted the stairs in search of his own bed. He needed sleep badly, besides he wouldn't have to deal with his children if he was asleep. He entered the master bedroom tiredly. It definitely felt like the longest day ever.  
  
Morgan was already in bed. She was propped up, reading a book. "I thought I heard yelling, anything wrong?"  
  
Severus didn't respond right away, he changed out of his clothes and climbed into bed beside his wife. "I was waiting for Dierna to come home and saw her kissing Stefan. She seemed to find nothing wrong with her behavior." His voice was stiff, betraying the anger he felt.  
  
Morgan debated what to say, this was a delicate situation, "Severus," she tried to keep her voice as low and calming as possible, "you know that I had a boyfriend when I was Dierna's age, and we kissed each other. I see nothing wrong with our daughter kissing her boyfriend as long as it doesn't go beyond that. I think that given the right circumstances it is completely acceptable and is nothing that you should worry about."  
  
"Dearest, I have to disagree with you. I do not want that boy touching my daughter, and I do not want her to behave in such a manner."  
  
Morgan sighed; this was going to be harder than she thought, "Severus, do you truly think that this is the first time they have kissed?"  
  
"Are you suggesting that they have..."  
  
"Sev, Dierna came and talked to me the first time they kissed, that was a long time ago. I told her then that as long as they didn't go past that I was not going to interfere in their relationship."  
  
Severus didn't respond.  
  
Morgan continued calmly, hoping her husband would be receptive to her, "And Sev, I'm sorry that I suggested you extend the kids' curfew. I shouldn't have done that. I was comparing your set of rules with those that my father set. And as you know, my childhood was hardly structured, and I was given much more freedom than I think is right for our children to have."  
  
"Morgan, I am concerned about what our daughter's relationship will lead to. I understand how a teenage boy thinks, and it is not a comforting thought. I cannot believe that you would actually condone this kind of behavior."  
  
"Severus I honestly find nothing wrong with it. And I think you overreacted down there. Our daughter is probably sulking in her room, thinking about what a tyrant you are right now."  
  
"I am not a tyrant."  
  
"No, but you can act the part at times. I trust our daughter to be reasonable in her relationships. And I trust you to make the right decision where our daughter is concerned. You are an excellent father Severus, a bit overprotective at times, but I think that is better than my own father who could have cared less what I did with my life. I think you need a goodnights sleep. I have a feeling everything will look a little better in the morning."  
  
Severus looked at his wife; she was always such an optimist. This was somewhat of a surprise considering how her childhood had been. Severus thought back on what he knew of Morgan's upbringing. Her mother had died when she and her sister were still very young, leaving them in the care of their father. Unfortunately their father had never recovered from the lose of his wife.  
  
Their father had continued to provide monetarily for his children, but was never there for them emotionally. He hadn't really cared what his children did. It probably would have been better if the man had gone ahead and died with his wife, Severus thought bitterly. He had been as good as dead to his children.  
  
Severus' own childhood had not been a happy one. While Morgan had had almost no rules governing her actions, Severus' case had been at the opposite end of the spectrum. It was no wonder the two of them longed for something better for the children. 


	5. Chapter 5

Kamen abandoned all thoughts of teasing Dierna about her date. He had heard the exchange between her and their father and knew that Dierna would probably never forgive him if he tormented her now.  
  
However, he wasn't one to let go of the situation completely. Kamen left his own room and knocked softly on the twins' door. No response. He slowly opened the door. Dierna was sitting on the window seat, apparently lost in thought.  
  
"Hey, Dierna."  
  
"What do you want? Because if it's anything about my date you better drop it now."  
  
Kamen crossed the room and joined his sister on the window seat. Although he was constantly tormenting his younger sisters, Kamen honestly didn't like to see them hurt. "It is about your date, but I promise I'm not going to tease you about it."  
  
Dierna looked at him skeptically. Kamen usually wasn't this nice. "Well, what about it then?"  
  
"I heard your and Dad's 'conversation' when you came in, I wanted to tell you that I think he's wrong. I don't like to see my little sister hurt, and I know how much you care about Stefan, so if you want me to stand up for you..."  
  
"You don't have to Kamen. I mean, it would probably just get Dad mad at you too. I just don't know what I'm going to do if Dad really meant it when he said I couldn't see Stefan anymore. I can't imagine my life without Stefan in it."  
  
"If Dad should for some reason forbid you from seeing Stefan, I'll help you work around that. The two of us are some of the most notorious trouble makers Hogwarts has ever seen. I think that if it comes to that we'll be able to work around it. But I wouldn't worry too much about that if I were you. Dad may be overprotective, but he's not a complete tyrant."  
  
"Thanks Kamen. You know, you can actually be really nice sometimes."  
  
He flashed his lopsided grin, "What else are big brothers for? But, I have a feeling I should head to my own room before someone hears us and we get chewed out for not being in bed. G'night Dierna."  
  
"G'night Kamen."

* * *

Morning. Severus fervently hoped that this day would go smoother than yesterday had. He smiled down at Morgan, watching her while she continued to sleep. She had taken up most of the bed, pushing him precariously near the edge. She was a rather restless sleeper.  
  
Morgan felt like something was not right. She was being watched. She spoke without opening her eyes, her voice still hoarse from sleep, "Severus Snape, I can't sleep if you are going to stare at me like that."  
  
"But it is getting late dearest, I thought you would have been up by now," Severus found that his mood had indeed improved after an undisturbed night of sleep, enough, in fact for him to tease his wife. He gently brushed his hand trough her hair, it was so soft.  
  
"Severus, let me sleep! You may enjoy getting up at some ungodly hour, but that doesn't mean I want to get up. Leave me alone! Instead of bothering me why don't you go un-tyrant yourself to our daughter and admit that it's ok for her to kiss her boyfriend?"  
  
Severus resisted the urge to laugh; his wife was not a morning person. She had the tendency to get bitterly sarcastic and knew very well how to use the sharp side of her tongue when she was woken up early. And Severus dearly loved to provoke his wife. She was usually a very calm and easy going person, but he knew exactly what it took to make her angry. He would love her forever.  
  
However, it might be better for him to get out of their room before his wife got really angry. And he did have a feeling that this time his wife was right. Though he abhorred the idea that his daughter and her boyfriend would kiss, he realized that he had been rather unreasonable. He would have to accept it, but he didn't have to like it.

* * *

Serena ducked a low hanging branch, and quickly swerved around an old tree stump. Her heart was pounding and her breathing was heavy. It was exhilarating. She glanced behind her, she was losing her lead.  
  
Serena neatly cleared the low stone wall and sprinted across the field. She resisted the temptation to look back; it would only slow her down. But, she could hear her pursuer closing in. Damn. Serena was not going to lose.

* * *

Nimue sat at the kitchen table, cradling a cup of tea between her thin hands. Last night had been anything but peaceful for her. Hogwarts was safe. As soon as she was back at school she would be able to relax.  
  
Hopefully by then the strange black figures would be forgotten. But for now their threats and eerie conversation lingered at the back of her mind, tormenting her. Why did she have to be the one to witness them? Nimue was confident that one of her older siblings would have known what to do with the information she was concealing, but she felt lost.  
  
Severus entered the kitchen and sat down at the table opposite Nimue. "Do you think I act like a tyrant?" Severus wondered how accurate Morgan had been when she had told him to "un-tyrant" himself.  
  
Nimue eyed her father warily, "Nooo..."

* * *

"First one inside the kitchen door wins!"  
  
"Then I hope you're prepared to lose!"  
  
Dierna was running as fast as she could, her muscles were aching and she could feel the sweat dripping off of her. She didn't want to lose. She just had to push herself a little bit more. Serena was still ahead of her.  
  
The twins went running together nearly every morning. It was usually low impact and actually rather relaxing. But sometimes it became competitive.  
  
Almost there, only a short sprint across the lawn. Serena knew she had a clear lead, this one was hers. She skidded to a halt to avoid hitting the door and reached for the door knob.  
  
Dierna skidded to a halt right behind her sister, but hadn't stopped soon enough. She crashed into Serena, who had been almost in the door. They scrambled, tying to knock each other out of the way. The race wasn't over till they were inside the kitchen.  
  
Serena wrenched the door open and ducked inside. But Dierna was right behind her. The two of them got tangled and fell, giggling, in a heap on the floor.  
  
Nimue looked down at where her sisters lay sprawled on the floor. Their antics tended to be a bit rough for her tastes. "Oh Dierna! You're bleeding, what happened?"  
  
Dierna pushed herself up into a sitting position and glanced down at her leg, there were several nasty scraps and a trickle of blood ran down her leg. She shrugged her shoulders, "I've had worse, probably caught it on a thorn bush". She stood up and grabbed a towel, which she used to wipe the blood off then held it against her leg when she sat down at the table.  
  
Serena quickly stood up and grabbed an apple out of a large blue bowl on the counter. She looked at Dierna, "want one?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
Serena tossed her twin an apple and leaned against the kitchen counter, tossing an apple back and forth between her hands. "I told you I would win," she was grinning.  
  
Dierna narrowed her eyes, "you won't next time."  
  
"I'll leave you here to fume about your spectacular loss, I'm gonna go get cleaned up." Serena left the kitchen and headed upstairs.  
  
Severus was waiting for a chance to speak with Dierna. This would probably be easier if it was just the two of them. Nimue quickly solved the problem for him when she decided to go read in the library. Severus took a deep breath. This conversation scared him.  
  
"Dierna, about last night..."  
  
Dierna froze, her mind moving at incredible speeds, trying to figure out where this was going to go.  
  
"Your mother informed me that I was rather unreasonable, and although I do not see this situation the same way she does, I suppose she is right. I know that Stefan is an honorable young man and I trust you. But, I want you to be careful. I have had students in the past who have unintentionally let things progress too far and I don't want that to happen to you. If I ever find out the two of you have..."  
  
"Dad!" Dierna could feel herself blushing, she knew where this conversation was heading and it was nothing she wanted to discuss with her father, "I promise we haven't done anything beyond kissing. Besides, I really don't want to talk about _that_ with you." Her face felt like it was on fire. She desperately wanted to drop this subject.  
  
"I just want to make sure that you are aware of the consequences should you make the decision to..." Severus stopped, he couldn't say it. This topic was making him very uncomfortable.  
  
Dierna buried her face in her arms. Why was he pushing this subject? "Please Dad; I really really really don't want to talk about this. I promise I haven't slept with Stefan, and I'm not planning on it." Please let that be enough for him to drop the subject, she was getting desperate. Her face was burning; this conversation was getting so embarrassing.  
  
Severus could see how uncomfortable his daughter was. Thank merlin. This wasn't a subject he had been overly thrilled to discuss with her, "As long as it stays that way, I'll try to be more accepting, and not to be the tyrant your mother told me I acted like."  
  
"She said you were a tyrant?" Dierna hid a smile behind her hand. Sweet Circe, a change of subject.  
  
"She did not say I was a tyrant. She merely inferred that I had acted like one. And don't you dare laugh at that young lady" Severus tried to look his sternest as he watched Dierna trying to hide her mirth.  
  
Dierna wasn't going to make it; she dissolved into a fit of giggles. She had not gotten much sleep last night and it made her giddy. She watched her father as he slowly shook his head at her. He would never betray that he found it almost as amusing as she did, but Dierna wouldn't have expected that of him. Even though he was scowling at her Dierna swore she saw the corner of his mouth twitch in amusement.  
  
Dierna knew that as a rule her father usually didn't show much emotion beyond anger or annoyance. When they were at home he was very loving, but that usually disappeared once school started. But, while he didn't display most emotions, his children had learned how to read him fairly well.  
  
Dierna put the towel she had been holding against her leg on the table and attempted to regain her composure.  
  
Severus glanced at the blood stained towel his daughter had placed on the table, "how badly did you cut yourself?" He found himself thinking of the time Dierna had cut herself on a loose piece of rusty wire and didn't tell anyone about it until it had become infected and swollen. He also tried to tell himself that she had only been seven when she did that.  
  
Dierna glanced down at her leg, "it's not bad, it stopped bleeding. I think I'll live," she grinned wryly.

Kamen bounded down the stairs and skipped the last five steps altogether. Five days till he was trapped in school again. He was going to make the most of his few remaining days of freedom. Not that he applied himself very hard to school work, except in potions. Not one of the Snape children would have dared to fall behind in that subject. But everything else could be coasted through as far as Kamen was concerned.  
  
He entered the kitchen with the feeling that today was going to be good. He was in too good of a mood for anything to put him out of sorts.  
  
"Morning Dad, morning troublesome little red-head." He took in his sister's running clothes and her windblown hair, "Hey Dierna, you should probably get cleaned up, you smell pretty bad after you've been running. Besides, you look like a wreck, its painful just looking at you."  
  
Dierna threw her apple core at her brother, but he caught it midair and threw it right back at her. Dierna glared and stuck out her tongue at him.  
  
"That's very attractive Dierna," he moved quickly and gave one of her auburn curls a tug.  
  
"Kamen that hurt!" Dierna narrowed her eyes, ready to take her brother on.  
  
Snape leaned back in his chair; he closed his eyes wearily and pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling another headache coming on. There was never a moment of peace in his home. Maybe he could just block them out. He glanced over at his children. Wonderful. Kamen had somehow managed to get one of Dierna's shoes and was now holding it over her head where she couldn't reach it. Now he would have to intervene.  
  
"Kamen, give you sister her shoe back now! Honestly, I think you two would have grown out of this ridiculous sibling rivalry by now. And Severus, what were you doing just sitting there while this was going on?" Morgan stood in the doorway, arms crossed, impatiently tapping her foot.  
  
"Mum!!!" Kamen dropped the shoe and quickly crossed the room to hug his mother. "You know that I would never to anything mean to my darling little sister. I'm completely innocent, I swear. By the way, have I told you how wonderful you look today? Because you look absolutely fantastic, I really mean it Mum."  
  
Morgan rolled her eyes, heaven help her, but Kamen was just too much sometimes, "Kamen, I'm not even going to dignify that with a response. But, I want you to behave, my sister and her family are coming for a visit today and I want no repeats of what happened last time."  
  
"I am shocked and offended that you even remember that little incident. I don't know why you insist on blaming that whole thing on me. How was I supposed to know that my little experiment would actually work?" Kamen managed to look truly affronted at the looks he was getting from his parents.  
  
Morgan sighed, Kamen's "experiment" had been to see if he could change his cousin Lori's and Dierna's hair green, without their permission of course. He had ended up in a world of trouble for that one.  
  
"Besides Mum, why would you want anymore redheads here? Isn't the one we have to live with trouble enough? In fact, I'd say we already have one redhead too many in this house." Kamen turned on his charm, and flashed his lopsided grin. He hoped he would be able to charm himself out of too much trouble.  
  
Dierna wasted no time on thinking about her reaction. She took her shoe that was still clutched in her hand and threw it at her brother. She smiled in satisfaction when it hit him on the head. Served him right.  
  
Severus quickly stepped in, "Kamen stop teasing your sister. Dierna do not throw things at him. Although I should think that you two would have learned to behave yourselves by now."  
  
"Dad, we don't really mean any of it. It's just in good fun isn't it Dierna?" Kamen walked over to Dierna and put an arm around her shoulder.  
  
"Speak for yourself," Dierna removed the arm with unconcealed distaste. "I'm gonna go get cleaned up. You can keep living in your own little delusional world Kamen." Dierna picked up the discarded shoe from the floor and swept out of the kitchen, head held high.  
  
"Kamen, promise me, no tricks this time?" Morgan looked up at her son with the sternest look she could muster. Something which proved harder than she thought, he really was rather entertaining with the way he denied his troublesome nature.  
  
"Mum, how can you even ask that? Have I ever done anything to deserve this kind of mistrust? However, unfortunately I must now take my leave; I have a few affairs that need to be put in order before this afternoon. Until then, I bid you a fond farewell." Kamen made a dramatic entrance, turning to bow to his parents when he reached the door.  
  
Severus turned to look at his wife, "It appears that I might actually have a moment alone with you my dear. How... extraordinary. It has been a long time since we have spent any uninterrupted time together."  
  
Morgan laughed, "Sev, would you honestly expect anything different when we still have four children living at home?"  
  
Severus shook his head, "No, but it would be nice to have you to myself for a bit. What do think about escaping from the world for awhile, just the two of us?'  
  
"I would have to say that you are just as delusional as your son. The school term is going to start very soon, and we both have a lot of work to get done before then. You know we don't have anytime for ourselves. I do regret it, but I do love the fact that I get to spend at least part of everyday with you, no matter what. At least we have that much. You know that most of the other teaching staff doesn't have that advantage. We truly are blessed."  
  
Severus held Morgan in his arms and thought about how he never wanted to let her go. He loved her fiery spirit; he loved the way it could take over her usually gentle demeanor. But he also loved it that she was so receptive to him, she could be so gentle or so temperamental by turn. She was so soft.  
  
"I hate it when you're right about things like this. I would give almost anything to have even a weekend alone with you." Severus breathed in the sweet scent of his wife's hair. She was soft and she smelled good. Why could they never be alone?  
  
"Sev..."  
  
"What is it darling?"  
  
"Have I told you lately how much I love you?"  
  
"Yes, but I love hearing it. And I love you more than life itself, you are my everything. _Amicam meam magis quam oculos meos amo_."  
  
Morgan sighed, "You know that I have absolutely no idea what you just said."  
  
"My dear, you are completely devoid of culture," she rolled her eyes at him, "simply put it means that I will never let you go."  
  
Morgan sighed happily, and snuggled herself closer into her husband's embrace. It was so wonderful to be held. During her seventh year at Hogwarts she had often wondered what it would feel like to be held by the striking potions master. She had been extremely delighted when they were finally able to embrace each other. There had been almost no hint of their mutual attraction while she was still in school. It would have made an already complicated situation nearly impossible.  
  
Morgan had never had such a hard time controlling herself as she had during her last few months at school. She had been terrified that she would do something to betray the affection she felt for the strict potions master. She smiled to herself. She was so lucky, she was happily married to the man she loved with all her heart and he had given her five wonderful children. She couldn't ask for anything more.  
  
Severus found that the rest of the world seemed to fade away when Morgan was in his arms. It was so right, it was simply wonderful, and.... Damn! It had just been ruined by someone knocking on the front door.  
  
Morgan quickly extracted herself from Sev's grasp and ran to answer the door. She quickly pulled the large front door open and giggled when she was lifted off the ground in a giant bear hug.  
  
Bill Weasley grinned when his sister-in-law answered the door and quickly swept her up in his embrace. He loved his wife's older sister. She was an absolute doll. "And how is the lovely Mrs. Snape doing today?" He set her back down.  
  
"I'm wonderful Bill, but I'll be even better if my sister and your children are here with you."  
  
"Do you really think I'd dare face you without them?"  
  
Morgan squealed in delight when her little sister, Graine, pushed her way around Bill. The two sisters embraced happily. Six years apart the two were nearly identical in height and build, but Graine sported long red curls in contrast with Morgan's brown tresses.  
  
Morgan pulled away from her sister to embrace her niece and nephew, eleven year old Lori and eight year old Arthur. She smiled widely, the entire family was redheaded, and they always made for an entertaining visit.  
  
Kamen came bounding around the corner, "Arthur, buddy, come on, I have something wicked to show you outside."  
  
Arthur smiled brightly, he adored his older cousin, and the two of them got on famously. Plus, the older boy was always showing him the most amazing tricks and pranks.  
  
"Kamen," Morgan was looking at him sharply, "do not do anything that you will regret later. I mean it."  
  
"Oy, Mum! Don't worry about it," he rolled his eyes, "come on Arthur, we'll go find some fun." The two boys headed outside, Kamen leaning down from where he towered over the younger boy, trying to decrease the height difference between them.  
  
Morgan turned to Bill again, "So brother dear, tell me about you family, how is everyone doing?"  
  
Bill smiled down at her, she never failed to inquire about his family, "Well, Mum and Dad are doing just fine, Dad is busy with the Ministry, but he always is. Mum is constantly nagging me, Ginny, Ron, Charlie, and the twins to bring her grandchildren to visit. Basically, there's never any peace for us when Mum's around," he stated dryly, "Business is going great for Fred and George, and their families are doing just fine. Charlie is a bit upset about having to leave Meg and the kids for work. Ginny, well... last I heard the marriage had hit a bit of a rough spot, but I believe everything will work out," he tried to sound hopeful, the situation wasn't a good one.  
  
"Oh, poor Ginny, but you're right; I think they will work everything out." Morgan took her customary optimistic approach to the situation; she refused to believe that it wouldn't work itself out. Now, why don't you tell me all about your latest project at work? I want to hear about everything."  
  
Bill chuckled, "that could take awhile."  
  
"Then come for a walk with me outside and tell me," Morgan grabbed Bill's arm and dragged him toward the back of the house. If they walked outside while they were talking she could keep a better eye on her son. Hopefully it would dissuade him from trying anything this time.


	6. Chapter 6

Severus watched as his wife practically flew around greeting everyone. She reminded him of a bird the way she moved. It was adorable.  
  
He watched as she practically dragged Bill outside with her, no doubt to keep an eye on Kamen. He was about to go find where his other children were hiding when he turned to find Graine watching him. "Well? Anything bothering you Graine?"  
  
Graine put her hands on her hips and leveled Severus with were best "mother" look, "are you treating my sister right?"  
  
Severus crossed his arms over his chest, "Miss Campbell, why is it that you question me about my wife's welfare every time you come to my home."  
  
Graine narrowed her eyes, "Severus, I am no longer your student, do not play the teacher with me. And I wish you would stop calling me Miss Campbell, I have been married for over twelve years after all," she rolled her eyes on the last part.  
  
"I can assure you that your sister is completely happy. Now, do feel like interfering in my life any further?"  
  
"Really Severus, you steal my sister away, and then expect me not to interrogate you about how you are treating her?"  
  
"I don't recall ever 'stealing' anyone away. But I do wish you wouldn't sound so accusatory every time you bring it up."  
  
Graine sighed, although she really did like her brother-in-law, she always felt a need to bring up how she felt about him taking her sister away. "Severus, she had been out of school for a matter of hours before you showed up at our door. You took her away from me."  
  
Severus looked down at Graine, she insisted on bringing this up every time they saw each other, but she was partly right. He had been rather amazed when he found himself attracted to the petit, curly haired, Gryffindor. Morgan had been in her seventh year when he realized how truly amazing she was. He had done his best to keep those feelings hidden, and considering the emotional mask Severus wore at school it had not proved too difficult.  
  
The truly hard part was when he began to see very subtle signs of attraction coming from Morgan. It had been enough to send his heart racing. It was all the encouragement he needed, the only problem was that they couldn't do anything until Morgan graduated.  
  
Severus had not wasted anytime. Morgan had only been at home for a day after graduation when Severus had found himself at her front door. He came under the pretense of returning some papers to her. A horrible excuse, but it got him there. He invited her to join him for dinner that night and their relationship had evolved from there. They were engaged a few weeks later and were married before the beginning of the next school year. It had been a whirl-wind courtship, one based more on outward appearances than actual love.  
  
Severus couldn't really blame Graine for thinking that he had stolen her older sister away. There home life had not been very good, and Severus had felt the need to remove Morgan from there as quickly as possible. He wanted to heal her pain, even though he was still wallowing in his own. Unfortunately, that had left Graine alone with their father. And to say that he was not the best of parents was a vast understatement.  
  
Graine had never truly forgiven her potions professor for taking away her beloved older sister. But she couldn't help but like the man. He had turned out to be amazingly kind, especially considering what she had seen of him in class. And he did truly love her sister. Plus, he had been the closest thing to a father that she had ever had.  
  
He really wasn't such a bad guy when you took everything into consideration.  
  
"When are you going to stop accusing me of stealing your sister from you?"  
  
"When hell freezes over."  
  
"Ahhhh... I see that the stereotypical redhead temper is coming through. Really Graine, in many ways you are still the schoolgirl that I taught."  
  
"What is it that you think gives you the right to insult me?"  
  
"You lived in my home for five years and were almost like a daughter to me. I have the right to treat you however I see fit."  
  
"Severus, why do you insist on arguing in a way that no normal person can follow?"  
  
"I have no idea what you are referring to..."  
  
"How can you say that? If you knew anything about what my life has been..."  
  
"Graine, I know what your life was like. I know that your father was a drunkard. He cared nothing for you and Morgan, all he was concerned with was having enough whiskey on hand so that he could lose himself in memories of your mother. I watched him gamble away damn near everything. Can you blame me for wanting to remove Morgan from that situation as soon as possible?"  
  
"The situation was hardly ideal..."  
  
"And yet you still blame me for it. And then when your father drank himself to death the year after I married your sister you came to live with us. Your sister and I tried to give you a home life that was significantly better than what you had previously had. We are your family, and I tried to be a father to you in the best way I knew how. I have trouble figuring out why you are still so bitter towards life."  
  
Graine sighed, "How can you ask why I am still bitter towards life when you are too?"  
  
"Because my anger is directed towards forces that still have the power to hurt my family. Your anger is directed at a man who never cared for you and drank himself to death while wallowing in his own self pity."  
  
She instantly dropped her tirade and her voice became soft, "Severus, did you know that I wanted to live with you and Graine from the start? I wanted out of that house just as much as Morgan. It hadn't been a home since my mother died, it was just a gathering place filled with bad memories."  
  
"I tried Graine. I know Morgan told you of all the time I spent at the ministry trying to get them to deny your father custody. I would have adopted you if it would have gotten you out of there; you are young enough to be my daughter after all. I wanted you out of that place too. I regret that it did not happen that way. Instead you have ended up just as bitter towards life as I am. And you have blamed me for every hardship in your life since I married Morgan." Severus found himself thinking of the dark years of his past, so different from what Morgan and Graine had gone through, yet he wasn't sure whose past was the worst.  
  
"We are more alike then you like to admit Severus Snape. The only thing either of us has to keep us going is our family. Without them I think both of us would have given up on life a long time ago." She smiled wryly, a distant look in her eyes. "I've never forgiven my father. But, I bear you no grudge."  
  
"Then, can I assume that we are declaring a truce? For the time being of course, I would never consider a permanent truce with someone such as yourself."  
  
"You are free to assume whatever you wish professor, you just won't have to worry about me lurking in a dark corner ready to hex you to kingdom come," she winked at him.  
  
"Mrs. Weasley, may I offer you a drink? I think that our decision to come to amiable terms deserves a toast."

* * *

Dierna sat down on her bed and pulled out a somewhat battered box. She stroked the lid lovingly before she opened it to sift through the contents. It was all of the letters and notes Stefan had ever given her. All of their notes, slipped to each other in the halls at school, and all of the sentimental letters that he had sent her every week this summer. Even though they saw each other several times in a week he never failed to write her at least once before the weeks end. Just a reminder of how he felt about her, as he put it.  
  
She sorted through the letters, looking for one in particular. There it was, towards the bottom. It was her favorite of his love letters. In this letter he had said the most wonderful thing in the world. It was something they had never discussed, something he had never asked her about, but it was something that she had wanted for a long time now. And obviously Stefan wanted it too.  
  
She scanned down the letter, looking for the passage that meant so much to her. The letter was creased and worn; she had read it so many times. Always the same phrase. Stefan had been telling her about some aspect at his job in the ministry, and what it meant for him, and then there was that phrase he had written, "When we are married..."  
  
When they were married! It sounded so wonderful. It wasn't asking her to marry him, it wasn't saying "if" they were married. It was "when" they were married. Dierna sighed happily and pressed her lips to the treasured slip of paper. It was only a matter of time.  
  
She thought for a moment. Maybe she could just drop out of school. They could be married now! It was a wonderful idea. There life together could really start. It would be amazing.  
  
It was a crazy fantasy. Dierna sighed and gently placed the worn letter back in the box. She gently ran her hand over the stack of letters; there was so much love inside. But, even if she was really ready to just quit school and marry him, Stefan would never allow it. He was always keeping her in check. He was her firmest support, he was her true love. She would have to wait for them to marry, but she wouldn't wait patiently.

* * *

Serena was lying under a tree outside. The cool shade felt so wonderful. She watched as Kamen played with Arthur. It amazed her how nice Kamen was to their little cousin. She wondered why he couldn't be a little nicer to his sisters, he certainly had the potential.  
  
She watched as Arthur ran over to his father. She smiled, she loved her Uncle Bill. He was just so... cool. He still wore his hair in a ponytail and he had an earring. It was wicked.  
  
She shaded her eyes against the sun as she watched Kamen run over to her. "Hey Serena, I was going to go.... have some fun. Want to join me?" He raised a questioning eyebrow at her causing Serena to smile; he looked like their dad when he did that.  
  
She looked at him suspiciously, usually his idea of fun was their parents' idea of trouble, "what are you going to do?"  
  
"I was just thinking, its gonna be Lori's first year at Hogwarts. We should probably give her a bit of helpful advice." He was grinning wickedly.  
  
Serena smiled back at him, "I think that might be fun. Of course I'll join you. But what exactly are you going to tell her?"  
  
"Ahhhh... that's the beauty of it, there are so many things she should know. How hard the sorting ceremony is, how incredibly mean most of the teachers are, all the horrible things they do to first years. I don't know where to begin."  
  
"Who cares what we begin with; this is going to be wicked! Let's go find her."  
  
Kamen grinned at his sister's enthusiasm. Trouble was so much more fun when there were multiple people involved.

* * *

"Were you able to obtain what is needed?"  
  
"Of course sir, I would never dream of failing you." The man shifted nervously, his superior always made him feel this way. It gave him the desire to run. But desertion would only warrant a fate worse than death.  
  
"And you followed them with no difficulties, they weren't aware of your presence?" He brushed his white blond hair back, a menacing look on his face, a look that promised retribution for any failure.  
  
"Everything went as planned, there were no problems. I am certain that they had no idea I was there." The nervous man desperately hoped he was right, otherwise his life would be ended summarily.  
  
"Let me see the vial."  
  
"Of course sir," the man retrieved a small glass vial form his pocket and handed it to Draco Malfoy, leader of the cause.  
  
Draco smiled sinisterly at the contents of the vial, "it is not much, but it should be all that is needed. A significant hurdle in our plan has just been crossed. It is now only a matter of time and our plan will go into action..."

* * *

Nimue contemplated her next move carefully. She really wasn't a very good chess player, but she still found the game enjoyable. At least she knew that she could beat her cousin Lori at a game of chess. However, she knew that she didn't stand a chance against anyone else in her family.  
  
Nimue had a habit of losing spectacularly whenever she got dragged into a game of chess with any of her siblings or her father. But, a game between Dierna and their father was absolutely amazing to watch. Dierna won only very rarely, but their games could last for hours. Nimue, on the other hand, was usually defeated in a matter of minutes.  
  
Nimue and Lori, with only two years separating them, got on very well. Nimue found that she preferred the relatively quiet company of her younger cousin to that of the more boisterous Kamen and the twins. Plus, she enjoyed occasionally having the upper hand.  
  
Nimue was generally pushed around by her siblings, and being the youngest, her parents tended to baby her. She enjoyed the fact that Lori looked up to her. It was a nice change of pace.  
  
"Checkmate," Nimue grinned as she moved her rook across the board, effectively trapping Lori's king. Her violet eyes sparkled in delight with her victory.  
  
Lori sighed, "You almost always win when we play. I'll have to practice more so that I can take you down next time." Lori tucked a loose strand of her straight red hair behind her ear and grinned back at her cousin. It was so nice to have another girl to do things with. Arthur was not her first choice for companionship.  
  
Lori couldn't wait to begin school at Hogwarts. There would be so many new people and so much to do. To her eleven year old mind it would be a great adventure.  
  
"Oy, Lori!" Kamen was standing there, casually leaning against the wall with Serena beside him, "I have some important stuff to tell you, about Hogwarts and everything."  
  
Nimue looked up at her brother, something did not seem quite right about this situation, "Kamen, what are you going to..."  
  
"Come on Nimue, this is important stuff. Why don't you stay out of our way, go read a book or something."  
  
"Yeah Nimue," Serena spoke up, "we just want to tell Lori about what she should expect at Hogwarts. We really don't need you here for that."  
  
Nimue looked back and forth between her brother and sister. They definitely had something planned, and she had a feeling she didn't particularly want to be around to see what it was. She got up and slowly made her way out of the sitting room deciding it would probably be best to make herself scarce if they were planning any kind of trouble.  
  
"Come on Lori," Kamen gestured toward the sofa, "sit down and we'll tell you everything you need to know," he smiled; this was going to be so much fun.  
  
Lori took a tentative seat on the sofa and Kamen and Serena joined her, one on either side. She hoped they would tell her everything. She was so excited about school starting.  
  
"Now, the first thing you need to know," Kamen began, "is how the sorting ceremony works. There is always some kind of monster. They change what it is every year so unfortunately I can't tell you anymore about what you have to face. But you have to fight this monster, and you're sorted into whatever house your fighting skills match."  
  
Lori looked at Kamen in shock, it sounded so difficult, "but how do I..."  
  
"Oh, don't worry about knowing a bunch of spells; I just threw a chair at the troll I had to fight. It's really not that bad."  
  
Serena chimed in, "he's right Lori, it doesn't matter what spells you use in the fight, just make sure you're creative. And don't worry about the danger, hardly anyone ever gets maimed," Serena made sure that her features were schooled in innocence. She desperately didn't want to give away the joke.  
  
Serena continued, "And make sure you watch out for the giant squid that lives in the lake. Every year he gets one of the first years, but the school keeps that hushed up. It wouldn't look good if information like that got out."  
  
"Are you sure Serena?" Lori wasn't sure if she should believe that or not. This all sounded way too far fetched.  
  
"Trust us," Kamen interceded, "we have the inside connection on these things. Whenever the squid eats a student they tell the rest of the kids that that particular student had to leave unexpectedly or that they got expelled. We only know the truth since our parents are teachers."  
  
Lori looked apprehensive, why hadn't she ever heard about any of this stuff? It didn't seem at all like the adventure she had been expecting, she had the strange suspicion that Kamen and Serena were trying to pull something over on her.  
  
Serena picked up their inventive narrative again, "you really have to watch out for the ghosts that hang around Hogwarts, they like to play horrible tricks on the students. They're done stuff like cutting students hair while they're sleeping, or stealing their homework. And you definitely don't want to face a teacher without your homework, right Kamen?"  
  
Kamen continued, nodding his head in agreement, quickly thinking up something else to tell his little cousin, this was so much fun. "She's right, the teachers are another thing you have to look out for. Most of them are absolutely horrible. Like, Professor Lupin, he's probably the worst teacher there. Everyone is terrified of him."  
  
"Never get him mad," Serena looked deadly serious and she lowered her voice dramatically, "there are rumors that he actually murdered a student once because that student was unfortunate enough to be caught talking in his class."  
  
Kamen tried desperately not to smile, Serena was absolutely brilliant, he could take this so far, "But, the worst of the teachers is our dad. He's terrifying in class."  
  
Serena quickly jumped in, "don't ever get on his bad side; you really need to watch yourself in his class."  
  
Kamen picked up on that line, "yeah, he has done some absolutely horrible things to his students, and..."  
  
"And he has decided that the two of you are now grounded till term starts."  
  
Kamen looked over at Serena frantically, she looked as shocked as he was, "Oy, this is so not good."  
  
"No its not," Severus glared down at the trouble making duo, "I was not very impressed with your rather enlightening conversation. Lori, I wouldn't believe a word these two told you. I am sure that they are now ready to admit that they were merely teasing you, although I do not find their little joke at all amusing."  
  
Kamen scratched the back of his head while he thought quickly. It didn't look like there was any way around this one. "Lori, we were just messing with you, we didn't mean anything by it, honest." Their dad had the most inconvenient habit of showing up at the worst possible time.  
  
Serena rolled her eyes, of all the times to be caught during that conversation, it had to be when they were bad mouthing their dad, how typical. And of course Kamen somehow managed to sound completely contrite. "I'm sorry Lori, we were just playing." She fervently hoped that was all it was going to take.  
  
Severus glowered at his children. The situation was rather amusing, not that he would ever let on that he felt that way. He was not pleased with what he had overheard; there was no reason that they should terrify Lori with stories like that. "Lori, your mother was looking for you." He shifted his gaze back to his children as Lori left the room, "that was a very irresponsible thing to do. I cannot believe that my children would deliberately try to frighten their own cousin like that." He turned and swept out of the room on that note.  
  
"Oversized bat," Kamen muttered under his breath, "he knew we were just having a bit of fun and then he has to go and blow the whole thing out of proportion.  
  
"Do you think he was serious when he said we were grounded?" Serena looked at her brother for any sign of hope to the contrary.  
  
"Of course he was serious, like I said; he always blows stuff like this out of proportion. He insists on making a big deal out of every little thing we do. Jerk." Kamen was glaring moodily at nothing in particular.  
  
"I wouldn't say that if I were you," Serena grinned wickedly at Kamen, "it would be a perfect time for Dad to show up again."  
  
Kamen snorted, "that's true, and the last thing we need right now is to have him over hear us bad mouthing him even more."  
  
"We? Exactly where does that 'we' figure into anything. You're the one that's doing the badmouthing now. Want to play a game of chess?" Serena tactfully steered the topic of conversation in a different direction.  
  
"Only if you're ready to lose."  
  
"Don't count on it Kamen, I can take you, no problem." 


	7. Chapter 7

Nimue headed towards her room to retrieve her book. Maybe she would just read for awhile. She stopped though when she reached the twins room. Dierna was sitting on her bed cradling a worn box in her lap. "Dierna, what are you doing?"  
  
Dierna looked up at where her little sister stood in the doorway, "nothing much, just looking through my box of stuff from Stefan."  
  
"Really? What do you have in there?"  
  
Dierna patted a spot on the bed next to her and Nimue quickly joined her, "Nothing much, it's mostly letters and a few other little things."  
  
"What's that?" Nimue pointed at a scrap of white ribbon.  
  
Dierna smiled as she picked up the ribbon and held it gently in her hand, she was blushing slightly, "Stefan gave it to me when he graduated, he said it would keep us tied together even if we had to be separated."  
  
"That's so sweet," Nimue spoke softly, "You two will be so happy when you can finally get married. You're meant for each other."  
  
"You really think so?" Dierna reverently placed the ribbon back in the box; it was her most prized possession.  
  
"Of course I do. Do you have any doubts?"  
  
Dierna sighed as she closed the box, "I have no doubts, but it just seems so far away at times, and I'm not exactly patient."  
  
Nimue smiled at her sister, "no you're not, but Stefan is. Besides, you two have to end up together. It's your destiny."  
  
"And what do you know about my destiny?"  
  
"I just know. I've seen it."  
  
Dierna surveyed her sister; with her serious violet eyes and sweet demeanor she seemed so much older than she actually was. Dierna found herself wishing she could be a little bit more like her little sister. She was always so calm and collected. But the things she said could be uncanny at times; Nimue appeared to have real talent for divination.  
  
"I'm glad you believe that, it gives me hope."  
  
Nimue smiled, "the only thing you have to worry about is how Dad is going to react when Stefan actually asks you to marry him."  
  
Dierna rolled her eyes, "Oy, that's going to be an interesting experience. I just hope Stefan has enough sense to ask Dad for permission to marry me. I have a feeling Dad would flip if he wasn't asked."  
  
Nimue giggled into her hand, "I think you're right, although that might be an explosion worth seeing."  
  
Dierna picked up a pillow and tossed it at Nimue, "you only say that because you've never had Dad _really_ angry at you." She shuddered dramatically, "then again, it would be rather humorous as long as I was just a bystander and his anger wasn't directed at me."  
  
"Dierna, promise me we'll stay close, even after you get married and move away. I don't want to lose you."  
  
Dierna hugged her little sister, "don't worry, nothing will ever come between us. There isn't a force on earth that could drive me away from my family."

* * *

Severus leaned back in his chair appreciatively. He was sitting outside on the veranda with his wife, Bill, and Graine. It was amazing. He could hardly remember the last time he had had a purely adult conversation that was not related to schoolwork. It was a relief to separate himself from that for awhile.  
  
Bill had been describing his latest assignment at work, but he knew that he had to bring up a topic that had been worrying him recently. "Gringotts has stepped up security a great deal lately. They've been picking up on an increase in underground activity. There's been discussion of an uprising involving former followers of Voldemort. Has Hogwarts taken any preventative measures?"  
  
Severus sighed; this was not a pleasant topic. "There has been nothing done yet, but Hogwarts is of course one of the safest places to be. All of the teaching staff has been advised of the possibility of a new round of attacks, but until we have any concrete evidence there is nothing more to be done."  
  
Bill nodded gravely, "of course, that is one benefit Gringotts has since they are not strongly connected to the ministry. They can change their policy with few hassles. You will be lucky if you don't hit too many snags in the system should you try to increase security. I'm still not convinced that all of Voldemort's followers have been removed from the system. I have the distinct feeling that there are several of them still fairly high up in the Ministry."  
  
Morgan reached for Severus' hand and they shared a long look. The two of them held the same suspicions about Ministry members. Severus gently rubbed the back of Morgan's hand with his thumb while he spoke, "I believe that you are right. In all likelihood there are still remnants of Voldemort's original forces still in the Ministry. Unfortunately there is no easy way to distinguish them."  
  
Graine leaned forward, "But don't they have records from the various trials that could be used to start another round of investigations? Or can't they use a truth potion to question employees?"  
  
Severus shook his head, "trial records will not help. My name is mentioned on several of them along with others who are innocent of any recent involvement. Besides, those that managed to convince the Ministry they were innocent the first time around would have no problem declaring themselves free of involvement this time. It would just lead the Ministry in circles at great expense. And they would never condone a potion induced interview. They would be too worried about it being abused and the immorality of it. There just is no good way for them to ferret out the turncoats, although I do have my own suspicions of who is involved."  
  
Bill locked eyes with the potions master, "I have a feeling we would probably come up with many of the same names. I know Dad has shared a few with me that he strongly suspects are up to something, and they were names that didn't surprise me at all."  
  
Severus tightened his grip on Morgan's hand, "I have a very bad feeling that something is going to happen, and it will more than likely happen soon."

* * *

Harry Potter watched the sun as it slowly set behind the gently rolling moors. The heather crested rises glowed red in the fading light. Everything seemed so much simpler out here on the moors, not like the hell his life currently was.  
  
Harry sighed as he watched the sun dip further down on the horizon, in many ways his life was different than what he had imagined for himself while he was still in school. For one thing, he hadn't been sure if he would survive Voldemort. But he had survived and he had seen Voldemort defeated, this time for good.  
  
He stood there, lost in thought; his life was far from perfect. He had married only a couple of years after graduation, he had a job that he loved, and he had three wonderful children. So what was he missing?  
  
His life hadn't turned out exactly as he had hoped. Harry realized that he had assumed that as soon as Voldemort was gone the rest of his problems would also disappear. He had been wrong. Only now his problems didn't tend to be life threatening, but they were still hard to bear.  
  
Harry found himself wishing that his life could be simpler. Wishing at times that he didn't have to be 'the boy who lived'. He wanted something else. He wanted his life to be perfect, and it wasn't. That's the way things were.  
  
He ran a hand through his unruly black hair. He smiled grimly, at least some things never changed. His hair was still a wild mess. The smile faded, a mess, just like the rest of his life.  
  
He looked down when he felt a small hand slip into his own. It was his six year old daughter, Lily. At least his children were the one thing in his life that was still good. Probably the only thing, he thought wryly. He held his daughter's hand in his and thought about his life, hoping for a change.

* * *

Morgan sighed as she leaned back into Severus. They had just finished seeing her family out the door. It had been a wonderful visit, but it had been tainted with the threat of future attacks by the growing dark forces. Morgan felt a cold shiver run up her back. She feared for the safety of her husband and children.  
  
Severus wrapped his arms around Morgan. "What's troubling you love?"  
  
Morgan placed her hands on top of Severus' arms as he pulled her back into him even closer, she rested her head against his chest, "I'm worried, I don't like the way things are going. I'm scared that there are going to be attacks on Hogwarts."  
  
"Hogwarts is most likely the safest place to be." Severus rested his chin on top of Morgan's head and breathed in the soft scent of her hair. He tightened his grip around her waist, intent on keeping her as close to him as possible.  
  
"I know it is, and with us there to watch over Kamen, the twins, and Nimue I'm not overly concerned, yet. It's Viviane I'm worried about now. I don't like that she was transferred into the department of mysteries. It doesn't seem like a very safe place to be in the Ministry right now." Morgan frowned down at her hands as she lightly traced her fingers over Severus' arms.  
  
"I know it's hard. I too feel some degree of comfort knowing that we can look after our four youngest on a daily basis. At least Viviane keeps in close contact with us. Plus, I have a strong suspicion that that young man she has been seeing is going to propose any day now. He will look after her. He's a good man, even if he is going after my daughter." Severus frowned on the last part. Even though Viviane was nearly twenty and living on her own he didn't like the idea of his daughter having such a serious relationship.  
  
Morgan looked down at her hands as twined her fingers around Severus' hands. It was hard to believe that she had been married and was a mother when she was Viviane's age. It didn't seem possible that so much time had passed; it seemed like only a moment ago. "I'm not sure if I'm ready to admit that any of my children are ready to think about marriage." She sighed, "It just doesn't seem possible." She closed her eyes, taking pleasure in the feel of her husband's arms as they encircled her, it made her feel so safe.  
  
"You sound tired my dear. I think I shall have to get you to bed early tonight."  
  
Morgan turned herself around and buried her face in her husband's chest, "I like the sound of that." She smiled up at him, her eyes dancing.  
  
Severus could see the fatigue in his wife's face, he leaned down to whisper in her ear, "I suggest that you head up to bed, I will join you shortly." His voice was soft and silky, it purred in Morgan's ear, sending a tremor of thrill up her spine.  
  
Morgan felt like she would melt. She reached up and gave her husband a gentle kiss, "I'll be waiting for you." She released herself from his grasp and headed up the stairs, aware of his longing gaze following her the entire way.  
  
Severus decided to quickly check on his children before he allowed himself to follow Morgan. The lack on noise was unsettling. He had learned through the years that silence in his house was usually the lull before a storm.  
  
He looked into the library. Amazing. Dierna and Nimue were reading while Kamen and Serena played a game of chess. No disasters, no problems, nothing he could find fault with, it seemed surreal.  
  
Severus headed back towards the stairs, looking forward to spending some time alone with his wife. He stopped midway up the stairs when he heard a knock at the front door. There always seemed to be something to keep him from his wife. Severus sighed in resignation and turned around, intent on sending whoever it was away as quickly as possible. He had no patience for anymore interruptions this evening.  
  
Severus opened the door, "Stefan, how... unexpected. What do you want?"  
  
Stefan looked at his former potions master resolutely, he had no intention of cowering despite the glare he was getting, "I need to speak with Dierna."  
  
"What do you want with my daughter?" Severus found himself thinking of the previous night and attempted to keep his temper in check.  
  
"I have to do some traveling for work, I've come to say goodbye."  
  
"If you do anything to break my daughter's heart I will make your life miserable," Severus scowled at the young man in front of him.  
  
Stefan found that he was very glad he was the same height as his former professor; this would be much harder if he had to look up at him. Professor Snape did make a rather imposing figure. "I would never intentionally hurt Dierna, I care for her too much to put her in any type of pain if it all possible."  
  
Severus continued to glare; he wanted to send this young man away without letting him see his daughter. It seemed like an easy solution, but it was not to be. Dierna came around the corner at that moment.  
  
"Stefan!" She ran to him and threw her arms around the man she loved. She could tell that her father was scowling at her for the display of affection, but she didn't care.  
  
Severus looked pointedly at his daughter, "not too late and I do not want you going anywhere," he shifted his attention to Stefan, "and remember what I warned you about." He turned on his heal and climbed the stairs.  
  
Stefan looked down at Dierna and gently ran the backs of his fingers along the outline of her face, "I have something we need to talk about." He reached for her hands; this conversation was not going to be pleasant.  
  
Dierna studied his face; something was obviously wrong, "let's go outside, we can walk while we discuss whatever it is that's bothering you."  
  
"What about what your father said about you not going anywhere?"  
  
Dierna brushed it off, "let me worry about him. I need to get out of this house for awhile and it will be the only way to ensure that we're left alone."

* * *

Harry held his daughter's hand firmly in his own while they crossed the gently rolling moors as they walked home. The terrain was a bit rough and had produced more than a few bumps and bruises and scraps when his children weren't careful on the uneven ground.  
  
He stopped when he felt Lily tug on his sleeve trying to get his attention. He looked down at his daughter, she clearly wanted something.  
  
"Carry me?"  
  
He fought the urge to smile, she looked so serious, "Don't you think you're getting a little big for that?" He raised a questioning eyebrow at her.  
  
Lily looked at her father as though he was crazy, "no," she said it like it was the most obvious answer in the world.  
  
Harry laughed as he swung his little girl up into his arms. His children were the only bright spot in his life at the moment and it felt good to laugh at something.  
  
Lily leaned her head sleepily against her father's shoulder, "Daddy..."  
  
"What is it doll?" Harry thought his little daughter was the sweetest thing in his life, so trusting and so loving, without any conditions.  
  
"Daddy, do you and Mummy still love each other?"  
  
Harry held his precious daughter closer, "of course we do. Now I don't want you to worry about that anymore." He was amazed that she had asked that question, he hadn't thought that she would have picked up on increasing problems at home. They had tried so hard to keep all of the ill feelings hidden from the children. And he did still love his wife; things were just so complicated at the moment.

* * *

Dierna and Stefan walked in silence. The continued silence was making Dierna nervous; she wished Stefan would just come out and say what was bothering him. They stopped by a stone wall that was bathed in a puddle of moonlight.  
  
Stefan placed his strong hands around Dierna's waist and gently lifted her up so she could sit on the wall, putting them at eye level with one another. "Dierna, I have to leave for a work assignment early tomorrow, I'm not sure when I'll be back," he left out the rest of his thought, 'if I come back'; he couldn't say that to Dierna, it would just upset her.  
  
Dierna looked at Stefan with growing concern, "Stefan, why are you making such a big deal out of this, you were gone earlier this summer on an assignment and you didn't make such a production out of telling me then."  
  
Stefan took both of her hands in his and held them lightly, "because doll, I am going to be out of contact on this one. You're not going to be able to write to me and I probably won't be able to write to you. I'm going to be gone for an indefinite amount of time and there probably won't be any communication between us."  
  
Dierna felt as though her world were spinning out of control, "no..."  
  
"I'm sorry it has to be this way, I just want to be with you, but I have to go." Stefan's voice was filled with regret; he didn't want to leave like this. He couldn't even promise that he would be back. "Will you keep in touch with my mum while I'm gone? She really loves you. I keep hearing about how you're the daughter she never had."  
  
"Of course I'll keep in touch with her, I love that I'm the 'daughter of her heart' as she puts it." Dierna lowered herself down off the wall and threw herself into Stefan's embrace. She held on to him tightly, "I don't want to let you go, please don't leave me."  
  
Stefan kissed the top of Dierna's head then gently raised her face so he could kiss her more passionately. "I have something for you," Stefan reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver ring that featured a tiny, delicate cameo. He lifted Dierna's right hand and slid it onto her ring finger. "This is my promise to you, no matter what happens, no matter how long we are separated, I will always love you."  
  
"How dangerous is this mission?" Dierna felt the beginnings of panic start to hit her.  
  
"Dangerous enough." Stefan avoided the question; he didn't want to admit how bad it was looking.  
  
"There's a good chance you won't come back, isn't there?"  
  
Stefan lowered his head, "I should have known I could never keep that from you. Yes," his voice was filled with regret, "there is a chance I won't come back." He retrieved a small package wrapped in brown paper from his pocket and pressed it into Dierna's hands, "I want you to open this package only if I don't come back. It's something I want you to have, even if I don't get the chance to give it to you in the way you deserve."  
  
Dierna fought back her tears, she never cried and she had no intention of starting now. She raised her chin, she could be strong, "you better go, you still have to pack before you leave."  
  
Stefan looked down into the green eyes that he loved so much, intent of memorizing every feature of the face that was so dear to him. "I'll walk you home, love. And you're right, I do need to pack. But until then you're mine." He gently kissed her again, she was so wonderful.  
  
"Stefan, if you want to..." Dierna could tell she was blushing, she hoped Stefan wouldn't be able to see it in the moonlight. It seemed like the only thing she could offer if he might never come back to her.  
  
"No. You would only regret it later." He didn't even want to think of what the consequences would be if Dierna ended up pregnant. He was willing to bet that if he did anything more intimate than kiss Dierna his life wouldn't be worth living after his former potions master got through with him. He pulled her back into him for another embrace, "I think its time I got you home, before we both do something we would regret." 


	8. Chapter 8

Harry entered the back door carefully, trying not to jostle Lily who had fallen asleep in his arms. He cautiously navigated the stairs so he could put her in bed. Once he had her safely tucked in, he headed back down to the kitchen, intent on seeking out his wife.  
  
She was standing with her back to him looking out the window. Harry walked up behind her and gently slipped his arms around her waist, but he was immediately shrugged off.  
  
"Harry, don't do this."  
  
"Ginny, please, I'm trying so hard, the least you could do is try to hold up your end of this."  
  
Ginny turned to face her husband; her tone was weary and edged with defeat, "Harry I do try, I have been trying for years. When are we going to come to terms with the fact that this is not working out?" She thought back to the crush she had had on him in school and the passionate love of the first years of their marriage. How had it all slipped away?  
  
"We have to make this work, if not for our sakes then for the children."  
  
Ginny sighed, "Harry, how good can it be for them to see us like this? Maybe we should think about what is best for us."  
  
"I can't imagine my life without you."  
  
"And I don't want to live my life without you, but if it's for the best..."  
  
"Let's try just a little longer, I promise you, if by Christmas we still feel this isn't working we'll sit down and figure out what will be best for all of us." He looked at her soft brown eyes and her soft red hair and thought that his Ginny still looked as beautiful as the day he married her.  
  
She sighed, "Alright, we'll give it till Christmas."  
  
The conversation was halted when two black haired children came tearing around the corner, "Dad! We taught Snuffles a new trick today, you have to come see it."  
  
Harry smiled at his children, thirteen year old Ophelia and eleven year old Brandon, as they ran into the kitchen, closely followed by Snuffles, their large chocolate lab. Even if his marriage had grown cold he still had the love of his children, and that, he thought, is the most important thing.

* * *

Dierna climbed the stairs to her room with a heavy heart. Stefan had left, they're goodbye had been emotional, but she had remained dry eyed for the whole thing. She could be strong. She had to be strong.  
  
She entered the room she shared with Serena and sat down stiffly on her bed.  
  
"Dierna, is everything ok?"  
  
Dierna looked up; she hadn't even realized that Serena was in the room. She had been too wrapped up in her own thoughts.  
  
"Dierna, what is it?" Serena was concerned; all the color had drained from Dierna's face.  
  
"Stefan is gone; I might never see him again." All of a sudden the truth sank in and reality hit. She might never see him again. She placed the brown package he had given her on her nightstand, barely realizing that her hand was shaking. She felt so cold.  
  
"Dierna?!" Serena looked at the shock that was registered on her sister's face. Oh god, she thought, she's either going to faint or do something to herself.

* * *

Morgan smiled when Severus finally joined her in their bedroom. "It took you long enough." She frowned at her husband in mock irritation, but her eyes were laughing.  
  
Severus sank down into the easy chair next to their bed and sighed as he leaned back; it felt so nice to just sit. He eyed Morgan as she came up to him, she looked so beautiful.  
  
"Tired darling?" Morgan gently ran a hand through Severus' hair. She smiled when he just closed his eyes and didn't respond. "I guess I'll just have to sleep by myself tonight if you're going to fall asleep in this chair." She bit her lip, trying to keep from giggling. She let out a small shriek instead when Severus grabbed her arms and pulled her down onto his lap.  
  
Morgan smiled contentedly as she rested her head against his chest. She felt his strong arms encircle her. It felt so good to just be held. "Hold me forever?"  
  
"With pleasure," Severus lowered his head and gently kissed his wife. The kiss deepened when her arms slid around his neck, pulling them closer together. When they finally separated Morgan smiled playfully at her husband, "if that is all I'm going to get I think I'll head to bed."  
  
Severus raised an eyebrow, "you little vixen..." he leaned down to kiss her again. It was wonderful to be able to hold his wife.  
  
Morgan snuggled herself closer into her husband's embrace, with her tiny frame she fit perfectly in his arms. She was on the verge of relaxing when there was a tentative knock on their bedroom door.  
  
Morgan tried to extract herself from Severus' embrace to get the door, but he wasn't letting go, "Sev, let me get it."  
  
"No, stay here, it's probably nothing."  
  
"Severus..." Morgan gently removed his arms from her waist. She leaned back down for one more kiss before she went to the door.  
  
Morgan opened the door partway and felt a wave of concern when she saw the look on Serena's face, "What is it darling?"  
  
Serena spoke in an urgent whisper, "Mum I need you, something has got Dierna really upset."  
  
Morgan took in the level of panic in Serena's eyes. She fervently hoped that everything was alright as she quickly slipped out of the room to join Serena in the hallway, "What happened?"  
  
"I don't know, she said something about Stefan but I don't know the whole story."  
  
Morgan made her way to her daughters' room, hoping that the situation wasn't as bad as it sounded. Her concern increased dramatically however when she took in Dierna's pale face and the look of shock etched in her face.  
  
"Dierna, what is wrong dear?" Morgan sat on the bed next to Dierna and put an arm around her trembling frame.  
  
Dierna took a deep as she tried to register the question, everything was a blur. She closed her eyes and recounted the circumstances behind Stefan's departure, her voice completely devoid of emotion. It all felt like a horrible dream.  
  
Morgan felt her heart clutch in pain for her daughter. She thought of all the times Severus had willingly gone into danger during the time of Voldemort and the complete sense of helplessness she had felt when she was left alone to wonder if she would ever see her husband again. She knew exactly how her daughter felt.  
  
Dierna rested her head on her mother's shoulder. Her world felt like it was falling to pieces. She told herself to be strong, but painful thoughts of what might happen kept filling her mind.  
  
Morgan gently stroked her daughter's hair, "it's alright to cry. I know you don't like to, but it would be a good release."  
  
"I don't feel anything." Dierna felt as though everything was closing in on her, everything felt heavy and dark and cold.  
  
Morgan rearranged herself so that she was propped up against the headboard and wrapped a protective arm around Dierna who had slid down so that her head rested in her mother's lap. Morgan gently worked her fingers through her daughter's hair, hoping to get Dierna relaxed enough so that she could sleep. She had seen the exhaustion in her daughter's face, she only hoped sleep would claim her quickly, it might spare her some painful thoughts.  
  
Morgan closed her eyes and rested her head against the headboard. Between the concern she felt for the safety of her family and the now the concern she felt for the state of her daughter's heart she was under an incredible amount of stress. When she finally opened her eyes again it was to see Severus standing in the doorway, it made her smile to know that he had come looking for her.  
  
"What was wrong?" He gestured towards Dierna who had finally fallen asleep.  
  
Morgan quietly explained the situation to him as she carefully got off the bed, making sure she didn't disturb Dierna in the process. She turned and gently tucked a blanket around her sleeping daughter; she hoped the night wouldn't be too rough for her. She knew very well that young love could be painful at times.  
  
Severus felt a sense of pity for his daughter. He did not want to think about what it would do to her if Stefan never came back.

* * *

Morgan held a cup of tea in her hands as she sat down at the kitchen table, which was bathed in the morning sunlight. She smiled at her daughter and the young man with her. It had been a pleasant surprise when Viviane had unexpectedly shown up. Morgan felt like she never saw enough of her eldest child.  
  
Viviane had the same brown curls and bright brown eyes as her mother, aside from their slight difference in height Viviane could have easily passed for a younger version of Morgan.  
  
Viviane smiled slightly as she held the hand of the man beside her, "I actually came by to get a few things that I left here. They're shipping me off someplace for work, but they won't tell me how long I'll be gone for."  
  
"Where are they sending you?" Severus asked from his place beside Morgan as he reached for his wife's hand.  
  
Viviane rolled her eyes, "I can't get them to tell me. All I have been told is that it is a secret operation with no set time limit. I swear, the majority of the people I work under are complete morons who lack the competence to successfully run the department."  
  
Severus silently agreed with her, "At least you have the benefit of working under a capable Minister of Magic; I am relieved that the days of Cornelius Fudge are over."  
  
"Of course Arthur Weasley is wonderful to work with, unfortunately he is surrounded by a rather unsavory, bungling crew."  
  
Morgan thought about what her daughter's assignment could mean, "Viviane, you work in the same department as Stefan, do you think there is any chance that you will be working together?"  
  
Viviane shrugged her shoulders, "Like I said, I've been told next to nothing about this assignment, right now I have no idea. But, I do need to get my journals from my last assignment, for some reason I was told to bring them with me this time. Where did you store them?"  
  
"Come on, you can help me get them. I also have a few other things of yours that you might want." The two women left the kitchen, leaving the men alone at the table.  
  
"So, can I marry her?"  
  
Severus looked at the man across from him, more than a little surprised at the abruptness of the question, "If you promise to treat my daughter with the respect and the love that she deserves I will not refuse you my consent."  
  
Colin smiled in relief; he had been terrified about asking to marry Viviane. He hadn't planned on blurting out the question like that, but he was glad he had gotten it over with.  
  
"When do you plan on asking her?"  
  
Colin grinned, "as soon as possible, I want to have an answer from her before she leaves on this assignment."  
  
Severus extended his hand to the young man across from him, "treat her well, or I will see that you suffer." His voice and look were stern, but he knew he would never have to worry about Viviane if she married this man, they would be more than happy together. But he was not pleased with the situation; he did not want to think about his daughter getting married.

* * *

Dierna squinted her eyes against the morning light as it streamed in her window. Damn mornings, they just had a habit of coming too... early. She tried to stretch out but her feet hit something. She turned over, glaring, trying to find the obstruction.  
  
Nimue was sitting on the edge of the bed watching her sister with ill concealed amusement. Dierna never had been a morning person. "Dad says you need to get up now."  
  
"Why would I want to get up now?! It's too early for any decent person to get up." Her voice was groggy and her head felt horrible. She had not slept well; images of Stefan walking away from her, never to return, had plagued her dreams.  
  
Nimue bit her lip, she knew about how Stefan had left and she didn't want to push her sister too much, "well, I'm just the messenger, but we're supposed to leave to go get school supplies soon and Dad said that if he had to come up and get you up it was not going to be pleasant."  
  
Dierna groaned as she sat up, her head hurt and she was still tired and the heartache she had felt last night seemed to be setting in again. It looked like a bad beginning to the day.  
  
"I guess I should get up..."  
  
"Dierna, don't lose faith. You and Stefan are meant for each other, nothing will happen to him." Nimue's violet eyes were serious; there was no hint of mocking in them.  
  
Dierna fervently hoped that her little sister was right. 


	9. Chapter 9

Severus waited impatiently. Morgan had more or less commanded him to take the children to Diagon Alley to get their school supplies, she claimed she had other plans for the day, but he knew she just wanted a day alone in the house without interruption.  
  
He glanced at the clock again. Serena and Kamen were ready to leave and he had sent Nimue to get Dierna, hopefully this trip would get underway quickly. What could be taking them so long? It was completely beyond Severus why it could take his daughters so long to get ready sometimes.  
  
Finally. Severus watched as Nimue and Dierna came down the stairs. His impatience turned to concern as he watched Dierna. She looked pale and it appeared as though what little sleep she had gotten had been restless. He would have to make sure to give her something to help her sleep tonight. "Dierna, are you alright?"  
  
Dierna saw the look of concern on her father's face and managed a small smile, hoping it was believable, "I'm fine Dad." He didn't look convinced. "Really, I'm fine." Although she felt completely drained Nimue's assertion that everything would work out had improved Dierna's outlook on the situation. She would just have to believe that Stefan would come back to her.  
  
Severus considered his daughter carefully, she did not look as well as she claimed to be. He was definitely going to keep a close eye on her today. Nimue had already started down the hall towards his study where Kamen and Serena were waiting. Severus gently placed a hand on Dierna's shoulder; "are you sure..." his voice was edged with concern.  
  
Dierna rolled her eyes and cut him off, "don't worry about me, I am fine." She was starting to get annoyed; she hoped her parents weren't going to keep bugging her about this.  
  
"It is my job as a parent to worry about you."  
  
Dierna narrowed her eyes, "well you don't always have to do such a good job of it."  
  
Severus' eyebrows shot up at that response, "I wouldn't count on that if I were you. Now, are you ready to leave?"  
  
Dierna sighed exasperatedly as she rolled her eyes again and walked towards the study. Honestly, she just wanted to be left alone sometimes.  
  
Severus almost smiled at the way she acted. He saw so much of himself in his daughter. Unfortunately, their similarities often caused them to end up at odds with each other.  
  
He followed Dierna as they made their way to his study. Severus removed a jar of floo powder from the shelf over the fireplace and held it out. He watched as one by one his children took a pinch of the floo powder and used it to transport themselves to Diagon Alley. He desperately hoped that this trip would be as uneventful as possible.  
  
Severus followed his children through using the floo powder and came out at the floo station in Diagon Alley. Wonderful, his children had already left the building. Why couldn't they stay in one place for five minutes?  
  
He walked out into the street. Kamen, the twins, and Nimue were standing in front of the building; at least they hadn't gone far. He was also relieved that the street was fairly empty. The rest of the students would not be getting their school supplies till closer to the start of term. That would make it much easier for him to keep an eye on his own children today.  
  
"Dad, can we look at quidditch supplies for awhile? I'm sure you have other stuff you need to do that we don't have to tag along for." Kamen tried to be optimistic as he waited for a response.  
  
"If I remember correctly you are grounded, so what makes you think I would agree to that?"  
  
"Come on Dad! We won't get into any trouble, I promise. We'll take Nimue with us; she'll keep us in line." Kamen grabbed his littlest sister and quickly pulled her close to him. He hoped the ploy would work.  
  
Severus sighed, either he let them go, or he wasn't going to get a moment of peace, "Fine, you can go, but I will meet you at Flourish and Blotts in one hour."  
  
"Great! Thanks Dad!" Kamen started to move off quickly, he wanted to leave before his dad could change his mind.  
  
"One hour! Remember that, not one minute late. Dierna, I want you to come with me."  
  
Dierna opened her mouth to protest as she watched Kamen, Serena, and Nimue leaving. She looked at her father with irritation. She snapped her mouth shut again. Everything she wanted to say to him at the moment would probably get her grounded for a least a month.  
  
"Are you mad at me or at some situation, which is completely out of your control?" Severus looked down at Dierna as they started walking, taking in her aggravated expression.  
  
Dierna didn't answer. Instead, she took a sudden interest in watching the ground in front of her. She had to forcefully keep silent. Anything she could say to that would not be pleasant.  
  
"You have a tendency to cover most of your emotions with anger. You use that anger to build a wall around yourself in an attempt to shut everyone out. I want you to drop that act right now, it will not work on me." Severus kept his voice low and composed. Morgan had accused him of doing the same thing on numerous occasions and he could see how this sort of behavior worried her. It concerned him to see the same emotional fronts being used by his daughter.  
  
Dierna watched the shadows the clouds made as they raced across the sky. Her mind was racing; she was sure that if her thoughts were flung out into the open they would travel faster than the very wind. But, her heart had managed to calm down a great deal since last night. In her heart Dierna truly believed that Stefan would return to her, but her mind wasn't listening very well. It made everything seem confused, and when Dierna felt out of control like that she knew that it was usually expressed in her anger.  
  
"Dierna..."  
  
"Dad, I just need time to work some stuff out on my own. Will you just drop this for now?" Dierna tried to keep the hints of frustration out of her voice, but wasn't sure about how well she had succeeded. A sudden thought occurred to her, "Did you make me come with you just because you were worrying about me?"  
  
A smile played at the corner of Severus' mouth. He had been found out. "Partly..."  
  
"Then what is the rest of the reason?" She highly doubted there was another reason. Her father was just overprotective and didn't want to admit it.  
  
"To make sure you stay out of trouble, I can't very well let you go off unsupervised; I can only imagine what you would get yourself into if I let you go off without adult supervision."  
  
Dierna smiled and bit her lip at her father's dry tone. At least he was in a good mood today; it wouldn't be so horrible being dragged around with him. Besides, when they were actually getting along she almost enjoyed his company.  
  
Severus felt a wave of relief; at least his daughter was smiling. He had been worried that Stefan's abrupt departure would leave her utterly devastated. But, it seemed as though she was going to be fine.  
  
I have to order more supplies for my classes, it shouldn't take too long." Severus held the door for Dierna as they entered the apothecary, "Do not touch anything and stay close to me."  
  
Dierna shook her head in exasperation; honestly, he still treated her like she was five. As her eyes adjusted to the dark interior of the store she moved between the shelves, taking everything in. She didn't mind the strange mixture of aromas that blended together, a product of the hundreds of jars that lined the shelves. They were fascinating.  
  
As much as she hated to admit it potions was her best class, and her favorite. She loved all of the different supplies and ingredients and the way they could be blended together so perfectly, it was enthralling. She paused in front of a display of imported Mediterranean products. Intent on reading the labels she jumped slightly when someone grabbed her around the waist.  
  
"Hello beautiful, when are you going to forget about your little lover boy and let me show you how you deserve to be treated?"  
  
She hated that voice, almost as much as she hated its owner, "Connor, if you don't let go of me now I won't be responsible for what I do to you."  
  
"Ahhhh... I like a girl with spirit, and I'd love a chance to try and harness your wild side."  
  
Dierna quickly extracted herself form the unwanted embrace. To her mind Connor was a complete creep, and she thought that he bared a great resemblance to a sewer rat. "Leave me alone," her voice was cold and filled with suppressed rage.  
  
"But I don't want to leave you alone, and I don't think that's really what you want either." Connor Macnair smoothed back his hair as he reached for Dierna again.  
  
"Dierna!"  
  
Thank goodness, her dad was calling her. Dierna pushed her way around Connor, trying desperately not to touch him in the process, and made her way to the front of the store where her father was waiting.  
  
"Are you ready to go?"  
  
Dierna simply nodded her head; she was too disgusted by Connor's behavior to trust her own voice.  
  
As they moved toward the exit two dark figures entered the store, blocking the way out.  
  
"Professor, imagine running into you here, how... unexpected."  
  
"Mr. Malfoy, what a... pleasant surprise," Severus' voice was hard and cold as he slid a protective arm around Dierna's shoulders, pulling her closer to him. He did not trust his former student at all of late, something that hurt more than he cared to admit

Dierna watched the two men in front of her apprehensively, she recognized both of them, Draco Malfoy and Walden Macnair. They had a feeling of darkness about them that Dierna did not like, it made her nervous.  
  
Severus highly doubted that this was an unplanned meeting. He suspected Malfoy of being involved in a new round of dark forces. I was just too bad he couldn't prove it. He would like nothing better than to make sure Draco spent the rest of his life rotting in Azkaban.  
  
"There are such interesting rumors going around about the movement of a new dark league, what do you make of it?" Draco's look was one of ill concealed malice as he questioned the potions master.  
  
"I would say that if those forces are planning an attack on Hogwarts they had better rethink their strategy as the school is very well protected."  
  
Dierna watched as Connor shuffled into her line of vision as he joined his father. He winked at her. She found it absolutely repulsive.  
  
"I have other obligations to attend to Mr. Malfoy, if you would be so kind as to remove yourself from the doorway..." Severus' voice was dangerously low. He would never trust Malfoy again, he had too much of a dark presence lingering about him. And he undoubtedly still carried a deep feeling of resentment concerning the death of Lucius.  
  
"Of course, I wouldn't want to keep you from whatever it is you find to be so important." Draco stepped back and smiled, his eyes glowing with rage.  
  
Dierna squinted her eyes against the glare of the sunlight as they stepped back out into the street. She felt as though everything should feel right again out in the sunlight, as though the darkness she had felt in the apothecary should fade away. But it hadn't. Something still didn't feel quite right.  
  
Severus had a very bad feeling about the confrontation in the apothecary. He didn't trust Malfoy and he didn't trust Macnair. He also had some suspicions that young Macnair might be involved somehow too. The thought of Connor Macnair brought something else to his attention, "I saw Connor watching you, has he ever tried anything?"  
  
Dierna sighed, this was a sore subject, "Well... he has never done anything that has been enough to scare me. And, he does have a tendency to follow me around, but he's mostly talk." Dierna felt disgusted with herself, she almost sounded like she was defending his actions. But, he hadn't done anything to hurt her... at least not physically.  
  
"Never let anyone treat you as though you are merely an object. You are better than that." Severus had often seen the way Connor, who would be a seventh year Slytherin, treated members of the opposite sex. It was obvious that the boy was only intent on using them for his own personal gain. Severus found that behavior abhorrent, especially when those attentions were directed at his daughter.  
  
"Dad, do you really think that there will be an attack on Hogwarts?"  
  
"This is neither the time nor the place to discuss that issue, and I really do not feel the need to talk about it with you."  
  
"You know, instead of avoiding my question you could just try giving me an honest answer."  
  
Severus considered his options in this situation, Dierna could read him nearly as well as Morgan could, plus she had his stubborn nature. It was obvious that she wouldn't give up until she got a real answer, "I don't know, but it seems likely that there might be an attempted attack, although for what specific reason I am not sure. Do not feel free to mention this to your siblings."

* * *

Nimue held her breath. They were here. She knew it had to be the same group of men that she had seen in Hogsmead, but she still couldn't tell who they were. Even though it was late summer they were wrapped in long dark cloaks, effectively hiding their faces.  
  
The last time she had seen these figures she had overheard part of their conversation. They wanted revenge. She strained to hear them now, but was able to pick up only fragments of their hushed whispers. But one word kept coming up, 'traitors'.  
  
Nimue felt as though an icy hand had gripped her heart. Revenge, traitors, death, destruction, weak spot, overthrow, domination. The haunting words of the dark figures tumbled over each other in her mind. Her head began to throb as the meaning of the bits of conversation she had overheard began to sink in. She inched further along the wall, staying in the shadows; maybe they would say something else. Something that would tell her what they were planning.  
  
"Taking Hogwarts should not prove difficult, especially since we have someone on the inside. The ministry will also crumble easily; our forces have already established themselves there."  
  
Nimue sucked in her breath; she wished she hadn't overheard that last part. An aura of darkness seemed to linger in the air. She had to get away from that spot.  
  
As she started to move away her vision became clouded, and yet everything seemed remarkably clear. Nimue rubbed at her eyes, it was like trying to look at an image through a veil, the images kept blurring together. A rushing noise filled her ears as the images became clearer, the ground felt as though it were spinning beneath her. She saw fire and destruction for a fleeting moment, and then the image instantly shifted back to the calm radiance of the late summer day. But it almost seemed as though both apparitions were happening at the same time, they melted together, becoming one.  
  
Nimue shivered, she felt so cold even though the day was hot. She shook her head, trying to clear the visions and took several deep breaths. Had she seen something that was going to happen or something that might happen? Or had it only been an illusion...

* * *

Stefan looked around the room with interest. He had taken a portkey from the office of his supervisor at the Ministry, but he now had no idea where he was. The room lacked windows and had a slight musty odor. And the walls were slightly discolored from water damage, but at least the walls were dry now. He had the feeling that the room was located someplace far underground.  
  
He took a moment to glance over his assignment papers. They gave him no clue as to where he was, or why he was there. In fact, all the information he had received for this assignment had been rather cryptic. He had been hoping that the paper work might give him some clue as to what he was in for. But they had the unsettling words "top secret" and "high priority" emblazoned all over them in bright red. Stefan's small amount of experience at the Ministry had taught him that those words usually did not portend well for their recipients.  
  
Stefan glanced at the accommodations the room possessed. A bed with a patchwork quilt and two overstuffed chairs at a rather rickety looking table. Not exactly high class, but he had encountered worse on previous assignments. And, he reflected grimly, there was probably much worse to come from this assignment as well.  
  
He sank down into one of the chairs at the table. He smiled to himself. Even though the furnishings were sparse at least they were comfortable. He made himself more comfortable. He had been instructed to wait where the portkey had left him, a Ministry member would come to him and brief him on this assignment.  
  
His mind worked fast as he tried to figure out why he was here. He felt a slight touch of apprehension, this could be a trap. But he doubted it. But, Stefan did decide on the fact that any Ministry assignment that landed him here was probably not good.  
  
He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes, wondering how long of a wait he was in for. Considering this was a Ministry assignment he figured he would be there for awhile, the Ministry had a tendency to never run on time, so he was surprised to hear the door creak open just a few moments later.  
  
Stefan quickly stood up, hand brushing against his wand, just in case. He had no intention of taking any unnecessary risks when he wasn't even sure of where he was. As far as he knew some vindictive person could be waiting to hex him to pieces. He grinned with relief and surprise, however, when another Ministry member entered the room, in fact, it was probably his favorite Ministry member from his department, because it was the one person he was sure he could trust without question, "Viviane, I hadn't expected to see you here."  
  
Viviane grinned back at him; she liked her sister's tall dark haired boyfriend, "you may not be so happy to see me after I've given you your assignment. But first, how is Dierna? I missed seeing her the last time I was home."  
  
"She was a little shook up when I left, but she's a very strong woman. I think she'll be fine." Stefan reached for Viviane's left hand and gently held it, turning it slightly so that her ring glittered in the dim light, "And how is Colin?"  
  
Viviane blushed, "he's doing fine."  
  
"And when did you acquire this lovely ring? I'm assuming it's from that worthy gentleman." His eyes gleamed roguishly.  
  
Viviane rolled her eyes, "that is none of your business Stefan MacNeill. But, he asked me early this morning before I had to come here." She grinned mischievously, "When are you going to ask Dierna to marry you?"  
  
"As soon as I can figure out how to ask her without your father deciding to kill me before I have a chance to follow through on that sacred question."  
  
Viviane winked at him, "in that case you'll probably have to wait another ten years at least. Now, as pleasant as this conversation is I think we need to get down to business."  
  
Stefan resumed his seat as Viviane took the chair across the table from him. "So, what do the gods of the Ministry world have planned for me this time?"  
  
"Well, I have in my records that you were contacted two weeks ago by a certain Mr. Macnair for reasons concerning an underground uprising, mainly citing that you are a pure blood wizard and that should equal loyalty to the suppressed forces of Voldemort. You immediately filed a report of that incident that went directly to the head of department. And after an inquiry..."  
  
"Viviane, I know what happened already, care to tell me what is going to happen?"  
  
She sighed, and regained her business like composure, "This is not going to be pleasant Stefan, and I hope you're ready for it." She paused a moment, "The ministry wants you to act as a spy. You are to contact Macnair and express an interest in his proposition. To help insure your personal safety you will be given false work orders to keep on your person. The only written copy of the real work order will be kept by the Minister of Magic. You will also be supplied with one dose of a fast acting poison, just in case things get... complicated. This is common procedure with this type of mission, sometimes things get out of control and it might be preferable to end your own life quickly than to be tortured to death, as has happened in some instances." Viviane said the last part in a rush, this was the last thing she wanted to say to the man who held her little sister's heart so firmly in his grasp.  
  
"It's as bad as that?" Stefan let out a low whistle, "damn, I thought I had prepared myself for the worst, but this surpasses even that."  
  
"It is also essential to this mission that you have no contact with the outside world. You absolutely cannot use owls to correspond with anyone. You will convey all information about the mission directly to me in verbal form. If any record of this mission gets out it could be devastating to the department. This new force will likely have no problems with using family or loved ones against you, don't give them any names or connections that aren't absolutely necessary to gain their trust."  
  
"If I don't come back," Stefan found that the prospect of dying on this mission was harder to accept now that he was closer to the situation, "if anything happens to me, I want you to let Dierna know, but make sure you spare her any details. I don't want her to know how any of this came about. I especially don't want her to know if it becomes necessary for me to take my own life."  
  
Viviane felt a wave of compassion well up inside her, she had to be separated from her darling Colin, but at least she could communicate with him. An idea presented itself to her, "Stefan, you aren't allowed to have any outside communication, but I am. I can keep Dierna updated on how you're doing, and you might be able to get an occasional message to her through me. You'll just have to keep in mind that anything I send out will be read several times by higher Ministry officials to check for information leaks."  
  
Stefan smiled, "thank you, you don't know how much that means to me."  
  
"I think I do, I wouldn't be able to stand it if I was completely cut off from my Colin."  
  
"Then I stand corrected." Stefan admitted sheepishly.  
  
"You most certainly do." Viviane held her head high; she was never one to back down in the face of a challenge.  
  
"I'm glad that I'm working with you on this one. Having a familiar face around is going to make a world of difference on this assignment." Stefan's look turned serious as they focused their attention back to the task at hand. 


	10. Chapter 10

Morgan gently smoothed out the letter in her hand. Its contents had caused her great joy and yet they had also torn at her heart. It was a quick note scrawled in Viviane's neat hand, sent out quickly before she had left on assignment, saying that she and Colin were going to be married.  
  
Morgan sighed, she had known that this was coming, but it sill managed to throw her off balance. Even though she knew that Viviane was a capable, loving woman, ready for this commitment, but Morgan still remembered her as the little girl she had cradled in her arms.  
  
Morgan moved into Severus' study. There was something about the room that comforted her, as if her husband's presence seemed to linger there. She sank into the oversized chair behind his desk; it made her feel closer to him somehow. Although, at the moment all she wanted was to be held in his arms.  
  
A small smile played at her mouth as she thought about their past. She had been so young when they married. Probably too young, now that she looked back at it. And she had become a mother so soon; Viviane had been born just over a year into the marriage. Everything had happened so quickly.  
  
Morgan closed her eyes as she thought about the pain those early years had held. The fear and terror that Voldemort had instilled in them all. It was still hard to accept that he was harmless know, the effect that he had had on so many lives was a haunting spectrum. It had meant that her marriage had been kept a secret for the first few years. Severus had insisted on it, as a way to help keep her and Viviane safe. Everything had seemed so hard to bear then. She had never been sure if Severus would return to her, or if she would be left a young widow.  
  
She inwardly flinched, that thought was still very hard to bear. But, Morgan had learned long ago, that no matter how hard it was, she had to let Severus go. She supposed that she would have to do the same thing with Viviane now. As Morgan sat there thinking about her life she realized that she had very few regrets. Her mind wandered, perhaps she just might be able to remedy one of those regrets, but it would be quite a job bringing Severus around to the idea that was forming itself in her mind and heart. But Morgan had no reason to doubt her abilities of persuasion; she had talked her way around Severus many times in the past. She fell asleep in her husband's chair, building castles in the sky.

* * *

In a dark cell, far to the north, a man waited. He had been patient for so long; it would just take a little longer.  
  
He watched the shadows as they slowly moved across the floor, a grim reminder of the passage of time. He had no idea of the number of days he had sat there, always watching the shadows. They were the only way he could mark the passage of time.  
  
His plan had succeeded brilliantly so far, he just needed to wait. And that was something he had accustomed himself to.

* * *

Kamen flashed his lopsided grin, using all of his charm to try and win over his sisters, "my plan is flawless, nothing will go wrong, I promise." His smile didn't falter, not even when his proposal was met with icy glares.  
  
"Kamen, do you remember how much trouble I got in last time you said nothing would do wrong? I have no reason to trust you on this."  
  
"Come on Serena! Don't use that as an excuse. You and Dierna pull all sorts of stuff together; why not help me out for a change?"  
  
Serena's black eyes glittered dangerously, "because, whenever I get coerced into doing something with you, you somehow manage to make yourself look completely innocent and lay all the blame on me. I'm not going to fall for any more of your schemes."  
  
Kamen sighed, all he wanted was a little help, "Nimue, how about it? Help your loving, kind, older, brother out. You know you want to."  
  
Nimue shook her head, eyeing were brother warily, "there is no way I'm going to cover for you."  
  
"Why won't either of you help me with this?!" Kamen was starting to get frustrated his brilliant plan was starting to fall apart.  
  
"Well that's an easy answer," Serena put her hands on her hips and glared at her brother, "because we're supposed to meet Dad in fifteen minutes and you want to go off on some little excursion and you want us to cover for you. How you can actually believe that Dad will buy any excuse we use for you is completely beyond me. Because, when he realizes that you're gone, he will go absolutely ballistic on us for trying to cover up your ill thought out, delusional, skirt-chasing plan!" Her voice rose on the last part, he could be so dense sometimes!  
  
Kamen quickly decided that Serena was right; it probably wasn't worth the risk. Not that he believed that his plan was either ill thought out or delusional. Damn, he'd really been hoping to get away with this too. "Well, I suppose I'll have to go make my excuses to Kristy, since the two of you have proved to be so helpful," his voice was dripping with sarcasm.  
  
Serena shook her head in disgust as Kamen made his way over to the long legged brunette who had captured his attention this time, "he is such a player, although I am impressed that he actually knows this one's name."  
  
Nimue nodded in agreement, "how does he manage to attract girls like that? You'd think they would see right through him."  
  
Serena just shrugged, "It's beyond me, and I certainly don't see anything special about him. I just I hope I'm around when one of them eventually sees him for what he really is and decides to slap him. That would be the greatest moment of my life." She grinned wickedly as she thought about that possibility.  
  
Kamen came sauntering back over; it looked like he had already made one conquest. He couldn't wait for the school year to start so he could really get back into his usual routine of picking up girls. In his opinion, the more the better.  
  
Kamen grin did not fade as he approached his sisters, "why do you two look so upset?"  
  
"Not upset, just disgusted. Although, I was impressed that you actually know this girl's name, that's an improvement for you. Do you know anything else about her?" Serena glared up at her brother; she really hoped his girl chasing habits would backfire on him someday.  
  
"Of course I know other stuff about her."  
  
"Such as..."  
  
"Well, she's going to be a fourth year Ravenclaw, how's that for information?"  
  
Serena rolled her eyes, "I think you need to find someone your own age, and you need to stop trying not to break every girl's heart that you come in contact with. I find it disgusting that this is like a game to you."  
  
"Why would you think that? It is a game, but a very complex one. I know all the rules and I play by them, it's not my fault if girls assume that I want something serious when all I'm looking for is a fling. Besides, its kinda fun leading them on, actually, it's a lot of fun for me; I don't see it as a bad thing if I break a couple hearts in the process. Girls get over that stuff eventually."  
  
Serena smiled and used her sweetest voice, "Ohhhh... you are going to be in so much trouble when I tell Dad what you just said."  
  
"You wouldn't dare!"  
  
"Wanna bet? I've heard you get the 'don't treat girls as objects' lecture before, I think it would be rather entertaining to hear it again."  
  
"You try to get me in trouble, and I'll tell Dad about a few very interesting things that are in your top dresser drawer, including a rather interesting photo of you and a certain boy I recognize from school, and a rather stimulating letter from him, all of which is rather scandalous if you ask me." Kamen coolly began playing with his nails, confidant that he had the upper hand.  
  
Serena felt her cheeks burning, "How did you find out about that?" She whispered furiously.  
  
Kamen grinned, "Oh, my usual way, just snooping about your room, looking for something to use against you should I need it. And trust me, what you have in your drawer will definitely land you in more trouble then that pitifully little amount of information you have on me, it kinda looks like your 'collection' would be the perfect distraction for me to use should you try to say anything to Dad."  
  
"Oh!!!! I hate it when you twist things around like that. And I really hate it when you go through my stuff!" Serena was livid, "I think I should tell Dad what you were saying, I will probably be able to talk my way around Mum if you tell Dad about my personal belongings."  
  
"Tell me what?"  
  
Serena felt herself blushing again as she turned to face her father, she hadn't realized he was behind her, and she really hoped he hadn't been there for too long. "Nothing, absolutely nothing."  
  
Severus raised an eyebrow, but didn't push it any further. Sometimes it was better not to know. Besides, he had a feeling he'd figure out whatever they were hiding from him later, he was very good at that. "I want to get the rest of your supplies and leave as quickly as possible." Severus turned on his heal, expecting to be followed, his mood was definitely worsening, he had no intention of putting up with any form of noncompliance from his children.  
  
Serena sent a questioning glance at Dierna, wondering what could have happened to get their dad that agitated. Dierna whispered softly back to Serena, "I'll tell you later, but it wasn't good."  
  
Serena sent a quick glance at their father, making sure he wasn't listening, "did you..."  
  
"No," Dierna quickly cut her off, and grinned, "it wasn't anything I did."  
  
"Well that's a change," Kamen entered the hushed conversation, smiling wickedly; "you're usually the only one of us who can get him that upset."  
  
Dierna punched Kamen in the arm, "stop being a jerk," she hissed at him.  
  
Kamen just flashed his lopsided grin and flicked Dierna on the nose, "I'm never a jerk, I just tell it how it is."  
  
Dierna was getting ready to pinch him in retaliation when Severus spoke up without turning around, "stop that right now you two! I'm not in the mood for this kind of childish behavior today."  
  
Dierna immediately dropped her hand back down to her side, it definitely wasn't worth crossing Dad when he used that voice.  
  
Kamen leaned in closer to Dierna, "I would really love to know how he does that 'I know what you're doing even though I'm not watching you' trick sometime."

* * *

"I don't want you to go!" Lily pouted her lower lip quivering as she fought back tears, "you can't go now!"  
  
Harry sighed as he tried to reason with his youngest daughter, and he was very aware of Ginny watching them form the other side of the room as he picked Lily up and settled her on his lap. "I've already explained this to you doll, I need to go help your 'uncle' Sirius with a few things, and then I need to go back to work. But I promise, I'll stop in to see you whenever I can."  
  
"No, you're not going!" Lily clutched her favorite stuffed animal, a llama named Ralph, to her chest. Her face was dark as a storm cloud and a couple of angry tears threatened to spill over.  
  
Harry closed his eyes for a moment trying to remain calm as he pulled his daughter in closer to him for a hug. "I know you don't want me to go sweetheart, but I have to."  
  
"No you don't!" Lily squirmed out of his grasp and ran crying up the stairs to her room.  
  
Harry sighed dejectedly, that hadn't gone nearly as well as he had hoped. He stood up and moved towards the stairs.  
  
"You'll be better off if you just let her cry for awhile, she'll come around eventually."  
  
Harry turned to face Ginny, slightly amazed. Her advice had been civil, with no hint of the exasperated tone she usually used when addressing him. Maybe there was still hope for his marriage. Harry nodded his head in acceptance, "I'll just go finish packing."  
  
He felt as though he should say something else, there had to be something he could do to make everything right again. He absently ran a hand through his unruly black hair, "Ginny..."  
  
"Harry, please, just go pack. I have nothing to discuss with you right now." Ginny turned away, feeling hot angry tears forming in her eyes. She still loved him. But everything had fallen apart.  
  
Harry took a step towards Ginny then stopped. She obviously didn't want him anymore; otherwise she wouldn't always shut him out like this. He turned back towards the stairs; he still had to get his packing done.  
  
As Harry entered the bedroom he and Ginny shared a sad smile crossed his face. The shared room seemed like the last true semblance of their marriage. But, Harry thought dejectedly, it was really only a false front, put up to convince the children that everything was still fine.  
  
Harry packed his belongings in silence; he folded each item carefully and placed them in his trunk. He was strongly aware of the fact that this could very well be the last time he was welcome in this room. It was a very discouraging thought.  
  
He turned when there was a slight noise at the door. It was Lily, with a tear stained face and still clutching Ralph. She quickly crossed the room and attached herself to his leg, "Don't go Daddy, please..."  
  
Harry gently picked her up and set her on the bed, "I have to go sweetheart, you know that."  
  
"You'll come back?" Her face was determined, she desperately needed that affirmation.  
  
"Of course I will," he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Now, I need to get going," he moved to close the lid to his trunk.  
  
"Wait!" Lily quickly hopped off the bed and ran in front of her father, "take Ralph with you, he'll keep you company." She held out the stuffed llama, her most prized possession.  
  
Harry knelt down in front of Lily, "I can't take him with me doll, won't you miss him too much?"  
  
Lily shook her head, "not as much as I'll miss you. Take him."  
  
Harry smiled as he took the stuffed toy from his daughter, "thank you sweetheart, you do wonders for my heart. Now, should I pack Ralph in my trunk?"  
  
Lily's eyes grew big as she shook her head emphatically, "no, you have to carry him. He won't be able to breathe if you shut him in the trunk."  
  
It took all of Harry's self control not to laugh at the serious way his daughter was looking at him. He wouldn't dare put Ralph in the trunk now, not with the way in which he was being glared at for even making the suggestion.

* * *

Severus sighed with relief. He had managed to get through the rest of the trip to Diagon alley with out any further incidents and had even managed to get his children out of the way quickly and quietly when he discovered Morgan sleeping in his desk chair. He smiled to himself as he wondered how long she had been there.  
  
He placed his hands on the arms of the chair and leaned down to gently kiss his wife.  
  
Morgan stirred slightly and smiled as she opened her eyes, "I like being woken up like that," her voice was still thick with sleep.  
  
Severus smiled, "and I like waking you up like that, it never fails to bring a smile to your beautiful face."  
  
"You think I'm beautiful?"  
  
Severus' smile widened as his wife began fishing for compliments, he was only too happy to oblige her. "No, not beautiful, you're only the most gorgeous woman I know."  
  
"Only the most gorgeous out of the women you know? What about all the other women in the world?"  
  
Severus leaned down and kissed her again, when he pulled back, leaving only a hands breadth between them he replied, "What other women? You're the only one I see, all other beauty fades in comparison when placed beside you."  
  
Morgan giggled as she reached for her husband; he was so good to her. As soon as she found the right moment she would ask him the question that was burning in her heart. 


	11. Chapter 11

Severus stood outside in the bright sunlight waiting impatiently. The rest of the week after the Diagon alley trip had passed in a blur. He was rather happy that it was time to return to Hogwarts, although his students never saw it, he really did enjoy teaching.  
  
He checked his pocket watch for what he felt was probably the thousandth time. Since their home was so close to Hogsmead there was no need to take the Hogwarts express, or any other form of long distance travel. Instead, Hogwarts had sent two carriages to take the family and their belongings to the school.  
  
Now, if he could only get his children to move a little faster, they might just leave by sunset, he thought sardonically. He crossed his arms and waited with annoyance, their trunks were already out here waiting, along with Dierna and Nimue's owls. What could be taking so long?  
  
Finally, Kamen and Nimue showed up, "where are your sisters?"  
  
Kamen shrugged, "don't know, don't care."  
  
Severus narrowed his eyes, he had been hoping for a more specific answer. His scowl only grew deeper when Dierna and Serena came around the corner of the house, "and where were you two?"  
  
Dierna rolled her eyes; he tried to act so much more threatening than he actually was. Serena spoke up, "sorry Dad, but I had to catch Bast," she clutched her pet black cat to her chest.  
  
Severus sighed, "I don't know why you insist on keeping that flea ridden pest."  
  
"You don't have fleas; do you my sweet little Bastet." Serena cooed as she stroked the cat's silky ears. "It's not your fault if some people just don't like cats." She narrowed her eyes in the direction of her father.  
  
Severus quickly loaded the luggage on the carriages. He desperately hoped that once they got back to the routine at Hogwarts he would gain a little bit of peace and quiet in his life. Not that he didn't love his children dearly, it was just that having four teenagers under his roof threatened to drive him mad some days.  
  
Finally they were all ready. Severus frowned as his children began to get into one of the carriages together. He had every intention of splitting them between the two carriages. But he stopped when he felt a gentle arm on his shoulder.  
  
"Let them be darling, they'll be fine."  
  
He looked down at Morgan, "do you realized how much trouble they are capable of causing if we leave them unsupervised."  
  
"Do you realize that they are all perfectly capable of spending ten or twenty minutes alone without your constant supervision?"  
  
Severus frowned at that question.  
  
"Besides," Morgan gently traced a finger down the front of her husband's shirt, "the two of us will have a chance to be alone if you let them all stay in that one carriage."  
  
Severus leaned down closer to his wife; "you are incredibly good at convincing me to go along with whatever you say" he leaned in closer and whispered something in her ear that made Morgan blush.  
  
"You're horrible," Morgan brought a hand up to her burning face, "but I've always loved that about you."  
  
"I know that," Severus gently ran his hand down the side of her face, brushing a loose curl back behind her ear.  
  
Morgan smiled as she raised herself up on her toes to gently kiss her husband. Every moment she spent with him was a blessing.  
  
"You know, you were yelling at us to move faster and now we're stuck watching this mushy crap."  
  
"Kamen," Severus' voice was dangerously low, his hand clenched into a fist. He tried desperately to control his temper. He realized how easy it would be for him to fall into the same dangerous attitude that his own father would have taken. That thought hurt him immensely, he tried to block out all emotion, it seemed like the only way to save himself.  
  
"Sev..." Morgan placed a hand on his arm as she watched the familiar emotional mask fall into place on her husband's face, "Sev, its ok."  
  
He didn't respond.  
  
"Come on Sev, let go of it, please, don't let the past drag you down now," She placed a hand against his cheek, "please darling..."  
  
Severus brought a hand up and placed it over Morgan's, "thank you darling, sometimes it seems like your touch is the only thing that can bring me back out when I start to drown in those memories."  
  
Morgan smiled softly, "I just wish you wouldn't do that to me, it scares me when I see you put that mask on. It covers up the man that I love."  
  
"I'm sorry. I scare myself sometimes actually," his voice became distant, "I can't help thinking that sometime I might actually..."  
  
"Sev, you are not your father. I love and trust you, and I know that you would never do anything that I would have reason to question." Morgan reached for her husband's hand, "don't do this to yourself, there is no cause for you to blame yourself for something you had no control over."  
  
Severus sighed, "You are right," he smiled dryly, "you always are."  
  
"I know I am, maybe you should listen to me more often," there was a teasing glint in her eyes.  
  
"Really? I somehow doubt that." He gently kissed her, "now, let's get out of here; I believe we are finally ready to leave."

* * *

Sirius grinned as the car sped along the scenic road; it always felt like going home somehow. "Glad to be going back?" He looked over at his godson, who was sitting in the passenger seat.  
  
Harry ran a hand through his unruly hair, which looked worse than usual since he had the car window down. "I always love going back; it just kinda feels like home."  
  
Sirius laughed, "I was just thinking the same thing."  
  
Harry smiled, "I thought it might be a bit harder for you to go back this time."  
  
Sirius smiled, "yeah, it is hard. But, I'm glad to know that Elizabeth will be waiting for me."  
  
"How did her kids take the news?"  
  
Sirius' happy expression faded a bit, "well, Willow is excited," he smiled at the thought of the adorable four year old who had completely captured his heart, "she doesn't remember her real father, so she's more than willing to accept me. William on the other hand," Sirius sighed, "I don't think he likes the idea of me marrying his mother too much."  
  
Sirius lost himself in thoughts of the woman he loved. He had all but given up on the hope that he might get married until he met Elizabeth. Elizabeth had been recently widowed; her husband had been one of the few casualties caused by the new group of dark forces that seemed to be forming.  
  
Sirius had lost his heart the moment he met Elizabeth. She was such a strong woman. She handled the death of her first husband well, and Sirius thought that she was doing a remarkable job of raising her two children, seventeen year old William and little Willow, on her own.  
  
But Sirius couldn't wait to marry her. He was ready to be a father to her children, and he was ready to maybe have a few children of his own. He absently ran a hand through his graying hair. He would love to hold a child of his own before too long.  
  
"Hey Sirius, looks like I lost you there for a moment."  
  
Sirius shook his head as he realized that his godson had been trying to get his attention for some time, "sorry about that Harry, just lost in thought."  
  
"Anything interesting?"  
  
Sirius grinned, "Yeah, thinking about how being a family man is going to change my life."  
  
"Thinking about increasing the ready-made family you're getting into?"  
  
Sirius laughed, "Yeah, especially if I can produce another one just like Willow, that little girl is the sweetest thing I've ever laid eyes on."  
  
Harry laughed, "She is adorable," his continued wryly, "just wait till she learns how to talk back to you, that changes things completely."  
  
Sirius grinned at that comment, "missing your kids already?"  
  
Harry nodded, "yeah, at least I'll have Brandon and Ophelia next week, I hate leaving Lily behind though. Although I suppose that it is for the best."  
  
Sirius shot a sideways glance at Harry, "how are things between you and Ginny?"  
  
Harry sighed, "I was afraid you might bring that up. Not good, is probably the easiest way to sum it up."  
  
Sirius put a kind hand on Harry's shoulder, he really hoped everything word be alright, "Hang in there kid, I trust you to work everything out eventually."

* * *

Morgan rested her head against her husband's shoulder and playfully traced her fingers along his leg. She bit her lip to suppress a smile as she watched the effect it had on him. She lightly ran her fingers further up his leg.  
  
Severus caught Morgan's hand in his own before it traveled any higher, "You're going to get yourself into a lot of trouble if you keep doing that."  
  
Morgan widened her eyes innocently, "now why would that get me into trouble?"  
  
Severus tried to frown at her, but failed, "if you can't figure that out on your own...."  
  
Morgan giggled, "Now, aren't you glad you left the children alone so that we could be together like this?" She tried to pull her hand back out of her husband's grasp.  
  
"I don't think so my dear, if I let you go you're just going to end up in more trouble." He tightened his grip on her wrist.  
  
Morgan narrowed her eyes, "fine, if you're going to play like that..." she reached out her other hand and picked up where she had left off, trailing her fingers along his leg, until Severus caught that hand in his grasp too.  
  
"It seems that you are now at my mercy, whatever should I do with you?" Severus pulled her closer to him.  
  
Morgan tried to wriggle out of her husband's grasp, but was hindered by the close confines of the carriage. She realized that she would never be able to free her hands from the steel grasp that he had them in. She was going to have to play dirty.  
  
She shifted herself around enough so that she could lean in very close to her husband. She kissed him gently, "let go of my hands now darling, I can't touch you if you're holding onto me like that..."  
  
She squealed when Severus pulled her roughly towards him, she ended up half sprawled across his lap. She narrowed her eyes and tried to free her hands from his grip once again. But she stopped her struggles when her husband leaned down and kissed her hard. When he finally let go of her wrists she twined her arms around his neck, enjoying the way he made her feel when he kissed her.  
  
When they finally separated Morgan sat up, and glanced sideways at her husband, noting the ill concealed amusement on his face, "What is it?"  
  
Severus smiled, "You look slightly disheveled my dear. It looks like you've been up to something rather wayward in nature."  
  
Morgan blushed, "well that's your fault." She pulled out a mirror and straightened her hair and clothes. She decided that now might be a good time to change the subject, especially since Hogwarts was now in view, "ready for another school year?"  
  
Severus smiled as she diverted the conversation, "yes, although I hate that we never seem to have as much time for each other while school is in session."  
  
Morgan smiled as he slid an arm around her shoulders, "at least I know you're there for me, I don't think I could handle any kind of separation."  
  
The carriages came to a halt in front of the main entrance to the school; Severus got out and offered his hand to Morgan as she followed him. Severus slid an arm around her waist as she sighed, "What is it love?"  
  
Morgan smiled, "I was just thinking that we send far more time here than in our own house."  
  
"Do you regret that?"  
  
"No, my home is wherever you and the children are."  
  
Severus pulled Morgan into him and was about to kiss her when they were interrupted by the appearance of the headmistress, "Minerva, your timing is as impeccable as ever."  
  
Minerva McGonagall smiled dryly, "Severus I'm glad to see you brought your usual sunny disposition back with you."  
  
Severus narrowed his eyes, "damnable Gryffindors, I can never seem to get away from your arrogant attitudes.  
  
"Watch what you say about my house you git," Remus Lupin smiled as he walked up. He had been back for some years as the defense against the dark arts professor and was now head of Gryffindor house.  
  
"Lupin..." Severus' voice was dangerously low.  
  
Remus just laughed, "How about a little wager on the quidditch tournament this year? I'm willing to place a fair bet that my Gryffindors will win the house cup this year."  
  
Severus merely glowered, "I hardly call that a fair wager Remus, it forces me to either bet against my house or my children, which is something that I will not do."  
  
Remus' smile widened, "yes, your children are a valuable asset to the Gryffindor team, pity none of them are in Slytherin. I bet you would have liked to have them in your house."  
  
Severus felt his temper rising, it aggravated him to no end that all of his children were in Gryffindor; he would have loved to have at least one of them in his own house. He was preparing to give Remus his opinion on the matter when Morgan gently laid a hand on his arm.  
  
"Trying to bait my husband again Remus?" She smiled warmly at Lupin who steeped forward to kiss her cheek, something that only darkened Severus' expression. Morgan turned back to her husband, "Shall we go get moved in?"  
  
Severus nodded, keeping his glare trained on Remus.  
  
Remus found the front that Severus put up rather amusing. Over the years he had realized that the strict potions master could be a great conversationalist and a loyal friend, if you caught him in the right mood. "So Severus, mind if I use your children for a bit of slave labor later on? I need to finish setting up my classroom."  
  
That did produce a smile from Severus, "be my guest, I think it would be good for them. Besides, it might keep them out of trouble for awhile."

* * *

Dierna and Serena paused in the doorway of their room. Dierna smiled, "it is so good to be back in the Gryffindor tower, far away from the prying eyes of parents."  
  
Serena laughed, "Have something planned already?"  
  
Dierna twirled a curl around her finger as she looked up towards the ceiling innocently, "nothing yet, but as soon as Nick gets here I'm sure we'll have plenty to do that we don't want Mum and Dad to find out about."  
  
Serena grinned at her sister as she thought about their best friend, other than each other of course. Nicholas Wood was another sixth year Gryffindor and keeper on their house quidditch team. The three of them were inseparable once school started, and were constantly causing chaos and trying to stay out of trouble for it.  
  
The teachers who had been around for awhile often remarked that the trio rivaled the marauders and the Weasley twins for the amount of trouble they were able to get into. They reveled in the disorder they caused.  
  
Their trunks had already been brought up and had been placed at the end of their four poster beds. The girls' rooms were decorated a bit different than the boys' side of the dorm. The beds still had the thick red curtains, but the walls were painted a smooth cream color. And along with several gilded mirrors all of the furnishings were just a bit more elegant.  
  
Dierna set down her box that contained her letters from Stefan on her bed, as Serena set down Bastet on her bed. Dierna smiled as she reached over to scratch Bastet's ears. Her owl, Boudicca, was already up in the owlery. Serena often used Boudicca to send letters and Dierna often played with Bastet, they shared their pets as they shared almost everything else.  
  
Bastet purred as Dierna continued to pet her. "So, you think we're going to get roped into performing physical labor for all the teachers to help them get ready like we were last year?"  
  
Serena rolled her eyes, "of course we are. Especially if Dad has anything to say about it, he's convinced it will keep us out of trouble or something." 


	12. Chapter 12

Nimue wandered back down to the main foyer, she had no intention of being involved in any thing that her siblings had or were going to plan. She found that she preferred solitude to their zeal for pandemonium.  
  
She approached her father and professor Lupin, who were talking by the main entrance, hoping that she wasn't interrupting anything.  
  
Severus slid an arm around Nimue's shoulders as she came up, pulling her close to him as she continued his conversation with Remus. However, the conversation was soon interrupted when the doors to the foyer banged open with the arrival of two more staff members.  
  
"Sirius, Harry! It's good to see you two; I was beginning to wonder what happened to you." Remus smiled as the two men approached.  
  
"Miss me that much, eh Moony?" Sirius grinned as he quickly embraced his friend, "I guess we are a little later getting here than we were planning on."  
  
Harry turned to find Severus studying him intently, "good to see you again Severus, I hope that your summer went well." He smiled at himself as he realized that his former potions professor could still make him feel like a nervous school boy.  
  
"As well as can be expected Potter. However, there is something I would like to discuss with you later, in private."  
  
Harry looked quizzically at Severus, wondering what it was that he wanted to discuss with him.  
  
"Did Ophelia come with you?" Nimue turned her violet eyes to Harry beseechingly.  
  
"No she didn't. I had some other things to see to before I came here so she's staying at home till next week. Sorry about that."  
  
Nimue's bright expression dropped a slightly, "Oh, well... that's ok; I'll see her next week." She turned to her father, "I'm gonna go see if Dierna and Serena are unpacked yet," she slipped out from her father's arm and headed back towards Gryffindor tower.  
  
Severus watched her leave, "it is completely beyond me why my daughter has to best friends with a Potter." His voice was laced with antipathy as he turned his attention towards Harry.  
  
Harry grinned sheepishly as he found himself under scrutiny. He absently ran a hand through his hair, "I don't know..."  
  
Sirius cut him off, "that's an easy question to answer. It's because your daughter is charming and pleasant, unlike a certain greasy git I know."  
  
"How... charming, Black. I can see that some things never change."  
  
Sirius grinned unrepentantly, "that's true, you're still a greasy git, just like you were during our school days."  
  
Remus quickly stepped into the conversation, "Severus, Padfoot, as entertaining as this debate always is I believe that we have a staff meeting to get to."  
  
As they headed towards the staff room Severus turned towards Sirius again, "How is Elizabeth? I understand that congratulations are in order for your upcoming marriage."  
  
Sirius smiled and his features softened at the thought of his fiancé, "Thank you, she was doing just fine when I left. Although, I have to say, leaving her and Willow behind was one of the hardest things I've ever done."  
  
"And what about William? From what I have heard of the situation it appears that he is not overly thrilled about having you marry his mother."  
  
Sirius sighed, "He constantly reminds me that I am not his father and that he will never accept me as such."  
  
"Give it time. He is still very angry about his father's death."  
  
Sirius nodded slowly, "How do you know so much about the situation?"  
  
Severus gave his long time enemy, now friend, a half smile, "he is my son's best friend Black, he spent a good deal of time in my home over the summer. I have a feeling he was trying to avoid you."  
  
"I didn't think of that..."  
  
"I gathered as much. Not thinking things through seems to be a Gryffindor trait."  
  
Sirius let that comment slide. He knew that it would probably be a long time before William would accept his mother's decision to remarry. He would just have to try to win the boy over.

* * *

Draco Malfoy crossed the dark room slowly. The shutters were all closed, clocking out the glare of the afternoon sun. He scowled as he watched his followers attempt to put the room to rights. They were fools, all of them. But they were the force behind this movement.  
  
Draco took a moment to criticize the quality of the work they were doing before he continued on, surveying the residence that they had taken over to use as their new headquarters. It had been no problem disposing of the muggle family that had lived there. And their removal had temporarily satisfied Draco's lust for violence.  
  
The location was perfect for their needs. I had been the closest muggle residence to Hogsmead, but it had stood alone, isolated from any other houses. It was a perfect place for their activities to be centered in. Only a few for phases and the return could be completed.  
  
Draco grinned sinisterly as he contemplated the future.

* * *

Severus swept a glance around the staff room as he entered. As he took a seat next to Morgan he couldn't help but be amazed at how much the staff had changed over the years.  
  
The loss of Dumbledore was probably the greatest change. Severus missed the older man; he had always seen the best in people. And he had been able to make people see the best in themselves.  
  
At least Minerva McGonagall made a very competent headmistress. She was strict, but fair, attributes that Severus respected. Plus, she was always a pleasure to spend time with.  
  
Severus suppressed a smirk as his gaze took in Sirius, Remus, and Harry. Although none of them had been his favorite people, to put it lightly, in the past, he now considered them friends. Remus was the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Severus had worked with. He had an infinite amount of patience, something that could come in very handy when teaching a dangerous subject, and he was easily able to maintain control in the classroom.  
  
Sirius had replaced Minerva as the Transfiguration professor when she became headmistress. Severus had highly doubted that Sirius would be able to handle the job at that time, but that had been due to the negative bias that he had held towards the presumably guilty convict at the time. But, Sirius had proven to be an effective and dedicated teacher. But, Snape found himself wondering if Sirius would want to continue teaching now that he would be getting married.  
  
Snape realized what a stress teaching at Hogwarts could cause in a marriage. The first few years of his own marriage had been rather rough, due to the need to keep Morgan safely out of the way. However, he also knew that having Morgan teach at Hogwarts, as the Ancient Runes teacher, was a godsend. It meant they could be together. Severus knew that Harry's marriage was not going well, and he strongly suspected that the long periods of separation were not helping. It might very well be that Sirius would look for another job that would enable him to devote more time to his family.  
  
Harry had given up a career as a professional quidditch player to come teach flying lessons at Hogwarts. Severus knew that it was the emotional connections that had brought Harry back. He knew that Harry saw Hogwarts as his first home; Severus didn't blame him for wanting to come back.  
  
Severus sighed as he continued to survey the assembled staff. The loss of Hagrid still caused him to feel a twinge of guilt. He still felt partly responsible for the death of the kind hearted half-giant. But, he was very glad that Charlie Weasley was the current Care of Magical Creatures professor. His years of working with dragons made him highly qualified, although he knew that it was hard for Charlie to be separated from his wife and their five young children.  
  
The last few staff members trickled into the room. Severus didn't even try to hide his look of disgust over the fact that Trelawny was still there. He personally though that she was a disgrace to the institution.  
  
Severus scanned the room, one person was still missing. He kept an eye on the door and wasn't surprised when a rather disheveled looking Neville Longbottom came hurrying in. After a brief hesitation Neville took a seat next to Severus, the only open one remaining.  
  
"Running a bit late are we Longbottom?" Severus growled.  
  
"I was preparing the greenhouse and I guess I just lost track of time." Neville hated himself for sounding so flustered. He was still very much in awe of the potions master, who was still able to make him very nervous at times.  
  
Morgan leaned over Severus from her spot on the other side of him, "Neville, never waste time explaining yourself to this git, he's not worth it." She winked at him.  
  
Severus glared at his wife, "I would watch what you say or..."  
  
"Or what?" Morgan tried to look innocent as her husband continued to glower at her. She lightly rested her hand on his leg, biting her lip to keep from laughing at his expression.  
  
Neville ducked his head and blushed slightly at the intimate nature of the Snapes' banter. He was thankful when McGonagall finally called the meeting to order.  
  
"I would like to start by welcoming all of you back for the beginning of another school year," Minerva began. "However, I am afraid that we will have to take a few extra precautionary measures to ensure the safety of our students this year. As you well know there have been a handful of attacks made by a new group of dark forces, which we are currently assuming is made up of former death eaters, along with other supporters of Lord Voldemort. At this time I believe that Hogwarts is still one of the safest places to be. And, for the time being, I feel that it will be safe to start the school year without implementing any new restrictions on the students. But, the protection spells on the school have been reinforced, at the wishes of the Minister of Magic, and I would like to have a few extra patrollers out at night. Are there any questions or concerns anyone wishes to express." Minerva let the stressed silence hang in the air for a moment. She desperately hoped that there would be no problems this year, "as there are no questions let us move on to the next topic."

* * *

Kamen, Dierna, and Serena headed back to the Gryffindor tower, after being kicked out of the Great Hall by Argus Filch who had accused them of trying to cause trouble.  
  
"This is cracked!" Kamen kicked at the wall, "we're the only ones here, we should have the run of the school, but instead we get banished to our common room by a janitor on a power trip. I'm going to find a way to get back at Filch for this."  
  
Dierna grinned, "I'm sure that shouldn't pose too much of a challenge for you. So, what are we going to do now?"  
  
"Kamen stopped in front of the portrait of the fat lady, "I don't know what you're going to do, but I am going to get started on some of the homework I have due next week. I still have three essays to write."  
  
"Damn, I had forgotten about that. Why do they even assign us homework over the summer? It's a waste of time."  
  
"You two haven't even started on it yet?" Serena looked at her siblings incredulously.  
  
"No, I'll do it later." Dierna shrugged.  
  
"Just who I was looking for! I was wondering if I could get some help organizing my classroom, any takers?" Remus Lupin was smiling as her approached his three students.  
  
Kamen held his hands out in front of him, as if to ward off an attack, "no way, I don't do manual labor."  
  
Remus chuckled at Kamen's vehemence, "fine, but I'll remember that in the future Mr. Snape. How about it girls? I'm sure you would love to help your head of house out." He made sure to stress his title.  
  
Dierna rolled her eyes, "fine, but I'm going to expect some points for this."  
  
Remus smiled, "I can't give Gryffindor any points before the term starts and you know it."  
  
Dierna shrugged, "well, it was worth a shot. But, since I'm such a nice person I'll help out anyways."  
  
Serena grinned, "I'll help out too, because if we're working for you Dad can't make us help set up the potions class room."

* * *

Morgan leaned her head against her husband's shoulder, enjoying the protective feel of his arms as they wrapped around her. They were sitting on the couch in the living area of their suite of rooms, enjoying a bit of quiet after what had been a rather hectic day.  
  
"Sev?"  
  
"Hmmm..."  
  
"Never mind..." She paused, she wanted to talk to him about something that had been on her mind for the past few days but this just didn't feel like the right time or place.  
  
Morgan smiled to herself as her husband's arms tightened around her and she snuggled herself deeper into his embrace.  
  
"Are you tired?"  
  
"No," Morgan's response was muffled as she buried her face in his chest.  
  
"Would you like to go for a walk?"  
  
"Sure," Morgan pushed herself back up into a sitting position. "Where are we going to walk to?"  
  
"I don't know, maybe down by the lake. I thought a moonlit walk might be romantic." He stood up and pulled Morgan to her feet. Gently cupping her face in his hands he kissed her tenderly.  
  
Morgan smiled, "you can never do that too often."  
  
Severus moved his hands down to her waist, "I'm glad you still like it."  
  
"Do I ever give you any reason to doubt?"  
  
"No", he took her hand in his as they started for the door, "but I still like to hear that you enjoy it."

* * *

Dierna sat cross-legged on the floor as she sifted through the box in her lap. She and Serena were helping Professor Lupin clean out the large cabinets in the back of his classroom.  
  
"What's this?" She held up a bronze arrowhead.  
  
Remus glanced up from where he was working, "that is a cursed arrowhead, they were occasionally used in ancient warfare. If you shot it at someone they died, not matter where they were hit with it. That one is very similar to the one used to kill Achilleus. The whole myth about his heel is wrong. He was simply hit with a cursed arrow in the only place he wasn't covered with armor and that just happened to be his heel."  
  
"Wicked, will this thing still work?" Dierna turned the arrowhead over in her hand, examining it carefully.  
  
Remus frowned, "I think you better give that to me."  
  
"That means it still works, doesn't it?"  
  
Remus ignored the question and held out his hand. Dierna reluctantly placed the arrowhead in his hand after giving it one last close look.  
  
"Have anything else dangerous in these boxes?" Dierna started sorting again.  
  
"I'm not completely sure, just be very careful." He frowned, trying to figure out if he should let the girls continue sorting through those boxes since he was unsure of their contents.  
  
Serena looked at Dierna and rolled her eyes at the way Lupin was acting. Dierna suppressed the urge to giggle, "He's almost as overprotective as Dad," she whispered back.  
  
"I heard that," Remus smiled.  
  
"Oh come on Lupin, its not that bad," Dierna rolled her eyes at him.  
  
"That's _Professor_ Lupin to you," he raised an eyebrow at her and tried to look stern.  
  
Dierna laughed at his expression, it was very similar to one she often got from her father, "you are as overprotective as our dad sometimes and you know it. You should have kids of your own _Professor_ Lupin; you already have 'the look' down."  
  
He smiled sadly, "with my condition I shouldn't..."  
  
Both girls were well aware of his condition as a werewolf. Serena cut him off, "that's no excuse. You only turn into a monster a few times a year, our Dad acts like a monster much more often than that."  
  
Remus laughed, "Somehow I don't think your father would appreciate that comparison."

* * *

Morgan raised her face to the moonlight. It was so beautiful. She felt the warm summer breeze gently lift a few tendrils of hair off her forehead. She smiled as Severus came up behind her and slid his arms around her waist.  
  
They had just gotten back from a long walk down by the lake. It had been so wonderful to just be alone with him. It seemed as though they never had enough time together.  
  
Severus pulled Morgan back into him and gently kissed the top of her head, he breathed into her hair, "I love you."  
  
Morgan smiled to herself; this seemed like the moment she had been waiting for. She had been planning the best way to ask Severus this question for several days now, she hoped fervently that he would be receptive to this idea; it had already firmly planted itself in her heart. "Sev, what is it that you always tell me makes up the three pillars of love?"  
  
He tightened his grip around her waist, "I believe that the three pillars of love are frankness, kindness, and understanding. Why do you ask?"  
  
"Well, because I've been thinking about something for awhile now, and I think that I should be perfectly frank with you about it."  
  
"Mmm... and I suppose that leaves me to be kind and understanding." Severus smiled into the darkness; he knew his wife was planning something.  
  
"Well, its just that I've been thinking, I'm only 39 and you aren't very old either, and with Viviane getting married, and this being Kamen's last year at Hogwarts our home is going to seem very empty next year, so I wanted to ask you what you would think if we, well... can we have..."  
  
"No." Severus tried to ignore the shock that was setting in. He had to maintain his resolve on this issue, they had had this conversation once before several years ago and he would not give in.  
  
"Severus, please, just hear me out on this."  
  
"No, I will not agree to it. Ask me anything else and I will not deny it to you, but I will not let you go through with this."  
  
"But Severus, think about how wonderful it would be to have a baby in our lives again. I want another child."  
  
"We will not have anymore children."  
  
"Why can't you be reasonable about this? I've thought it out, and this is something that I really want."  
  
"Morgan, look at me," Severus gently turned her in his arms so that they were facing each other; "I nearly lost you when you had Nimue, I will not go through that again."  
  
"But, Sev, that won't happen again." Morgan was starting to get desperate, she wanted this so badly.  
  
"You don't know that for certain, and I'll be dammed if I'm going to go through that again. I sat by your side for days, not knowing if you would ever wake up. You will not risk yourself like that again."  
  
"Severus, it is my body, please, let me have this. Let's have another child while we still can."  
  
Severus tried to block out the feelings of sorrow and pity that were pervading upon him. He had to maintain his resolve on this one issue. "Yes, it is your body, but I am your husband, and I say we will not have anymore children."  
  
"Do you really think you can control me like this?" Morgan's voice grew cold with anger; this conversation was not going the way she wanted it to.  
  
"Do you realize how selfish you are being my dear? You want this one thing so badly that you have not given any thought to the repercussions it might have for me or the five children that we already have."  
  
Morgan wrenched herself from her husband's grasp and started walking away.  
  
"Morgan, where are you going?" He took a few steps towards her.  
  
"Severus, I just need some time to myself. Don't follow me." She walked off into the darkness. 


	13. Chapter 13

Remus smiled at his help, "girls, I think we are almost done with this, want to give it just a little longer and see if we can get it done tonight?"  
  
"Sure," the twins chorused in unison.  
  
Remus turned back to the shelf he was working on this had taken a bit longer than he had planned on, mainly because whenever one of the girls came across something unfamiliar they requested an explanation. He loved it. Both girls were very bright, and he found their enthusiasm very refreshing.  
  
"Are we interrupting?" Sirius and Harry entered the classroom together. They had spent much of the evening walking over the grounds together talking about Hogwarts as it had been in years past.  
  
"No, of course not, although if you come in here I'll probably end up putting you to work," Remus grinned at his two friends.  
  
Sirius chuckled, "I'd say you already have enough help," he gestured to where the girls were sitting on the floor. "How did you let him talk you into helping him clean? You don't have to do this." Sirius asked Dierna and Serena.  
  
Dierna sighed, "No, we do have to do this. But, we chose to help Lupin; we'll end up being forced to help Dad with his classroom."  
  
The three men laughed, recognizing how true that statement was.  
  
Remus, Sirius, and Harry started a low conversation. They were discussing the possible threat that the new dark forces posed to the school when they were interrupted by a shriek. They instantly turned, hands on their wands, to where the Dierna and Serena were, preparing for the worst. The girls however, had dissolved in giggles by that time.  
  
"What happened?" Remus asked them. His face was lined with worry.  
  
Dierna, pointed to an object lying on the floor across the room, "she... pulled that... out of the box... and... threw it at me." She barely managed to get the sentence out as she collapsed on the floor laughing.  
  
Remus grinned as he crossed the room and picked up the shrunken head, "I forgot that this was in there. Something I picked up on a trip to the Amazon." He put the artifact on a shelf in the back of one of the cabinets, "sorry if that scared you."  
  
Dierna finally sat up, "it wasn't so much seeing a shrunken head as it was having one thrown at me."  
  
Remus merely shook his head in mock exasperation at the two girls. He was about to say something to them about being more careful when they were interrupted.  
  
"Remus, I was wondering if you were done with my girls for the night." Severus came in the door. After the confrontation with Morgan he had come inside, ready to seek the sanctuary of their bedroom, but he had heard the commotion in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.  
  
"Sure, you can have them back if you want. They've helped me get a lot done this evening."  
  
Severus turned his attention to his daughters, "girls, I want you to get to bed, it's well after eleven."  
  
"Come on Dad, that's not very late, just a little while longer? Please..." Serena looked pleadingly at her father.  
  
"Yeah Dad, come on, we promise not to get into any trouble if you let us stay down here a little longer." Dierna pouted slightly, putting on her best look of innocence.  
  
Severus shook his head, "no, I want you back in your dorm now."  
  
Dierna and Serena rolled their eyes at each other, silently communicating their general disgust concerning unreasonable demands made by parents, as they got up off the floor.  
  
"Thanks for your help tonight girls," Remus smiled at them as they walked to the door.  
  
"No problem Professor," Serena smiled sweetly at him.  
  
"Yeah, we'd be happy to help again. Especially if you can get us away from him for awhile," Dierna dropped her voice to a dramatic whisper as she nodded her head in the direction of her father.  
  
Remus covered his smile as he took in the irritated look on Severus' face.  
  
"Alright, that's enough of that Adelaide," Severus sighed as he held the door open for his daughters; he exchanged a long look with Remus that betrayed exasperation.  
  
Dierna rolled her eyes at being called her real name, as she made her way to the door.  
  
Severus held the door for his girls, "I'll walk you two back up to your tower." As soon as he saw them safely back he could finally get back to his own room, hopefully Morgan would be back by then.  
  
Sirius laughed softly as they left, "those girls almost deserve the title of 'marauder', they really know how to get to that greasy git."

* * *

Morgan sighed wearily as she entered their bedroom, her heart was sick with grief, mourning for the death of her carefully laid out plan. She wanted another baby so badly.  
  
Morgan paused in the doorway; Severus was sitting in an overstuffed chair next to their bed, reading. He looked up at her as she stood in the doorway, looking very uncertain of herself.  
  
Severus, always the height of decorum, stood up as his wife entered the room. "You really had your heart set on having another child," it wasn't a question.  
  
Morgan nodded miserably. Her heart felt like it had been broken into a million pieces when Sev had said no when she asked him about having another child. She was exhausted now. She felt wretched for being mad at her husband, but it did nothing to diminish her anger.  
  
Severus tried to figure out the best way to handle this. Morgan had changed and was now lying on the bed, turned away from him and curled around a pillow. Severus sat down on the bed and gently laid a hand on his wife's back, "Morgan, we need to talk about this."  
  
"I have nothing to talk to you about." She sniffed, trying to keep the tears out of her voice.  
  
Severus gently ran is hand in small slow circles on her back. "Morgan, I love you more than anything, and that is why we cannot have another child. I will not endanger you in any way if I can help it. If you got pregnant and... if something happened, it would be my fault. I can't do that to you."  
  
Morgan sat up and turned to face her husband using the back of her hand to wipe away her tears. "Sev, it would not be your fault, I want this. It is my decision."  
  
"No, it is not your decision, it is a decision that we should make together, one that we both have to agree on," Severus kept his voice as low and soothing as possible, "I can't live without you Morgan."  
  
Morgan wiped at a few more stray tears, "I'm sorry Sev, I should have discussed this with you before I got my heart set on it."  
  
Severus felt his heart melting at how miserable his wife looked. He resituated himself so that he was leaning against the headboard and he picked her up and settled her in his lap. "Don't be sorry about anything darling. I understand why you want this. Personally, I would love to have another child, but I will not take the risk of losing you. I love you too much."  
  
"Sev, I just wanted another child so badly," she leaned against him; her voice was heavily laced with exhaustion. She felt defeated.  
  
"I know my love, but some things just aren't meant to be."  
  
"But what if this was meant to be?"  
  
"Then it will find a way of working itself out." Severus could hear in her voice how tired his wife was, and he didn't particularly feel like having this conversation with her when she was about to fall asleep in his arms.  
  
"Sev?"  
  
"What is it love?"  
  
"Can we at least discuss this further? Will you think about it?" She tried to keep any hints of desperation out of her voice; she didn't want to beg her husband for anything.  
  
Severus gently kissed the top of her head, "of course I will consider it, but I will make no promises on this subject."  
  
"As long as you think about it, that's all I ask." She sighed as her head dropped against his chest; she was too tired to even hold it up anymore. Her eyes fluttered shut.  
  
Severus watched his wife as she fell asleep in his arms. He hated to hurt her in any way. He hoped that she had really forgiven him for not agreeing to have another child. He just didn't want to see anything happen to her.  
  
Morgan woke up very slowly; sleep was so pleasant, so peaceful. She didn't feel like getting up and facing the realities of the world. She sighed softly as she decided she had better start moving. She tried to sit up, but found that she was penned down to the mattress. She opened her eyes, squinting at the early morning sunlight that was filling the room, trying to figure out what was holding her down.  
  
She was surprised to see her husband's face so close to hers when she opened her eyes. And she was even more surprised to find that she couldn't sit up because she was held firmly in his arms. She had been so cold to him last night, even when he tried in his own way to apologize she had still not been very accepting.  
  
She was rather surprised that he was still sleeping; usually he beat her up by at least an hour. She buried her face in his neck; she tried to keep her breathing quiet and made as little movement as possible. She didn't want to wake him.  
  
"Don't bother trying to be quiet, I'm already awake." Severus spoke into her hair, enjoying the scent of it. Morgan always smelled so wonderful, like a combination of wildflowers and cinnamon.  
  
"Did I wake you?"  
  
"Yes, but I don't mind." Severus lightened his grasp on her and moved his hands gently down her body so that they rested on her waist.  
  
"Sev, I'm sorry about last night. Are you mad at me for doing that to you?"  
  
Severus propped himself up on one arm, "no, not mad. A bit hurt, yes, but I was never mad at you."  
  
Morgan absently traced a random pattern on the sheet with her finger, not wanting to look at her husband. "I never meant to hurt you. Besides, you were right about what you said last night, about me being selfish. I never even thought that you would have a problem with my idea. I should have thought of you."  
  
"I understand your reasoning darling; I just don't think that this is a good idea."  
  
Morgan glanced up at her husband, worry and concern and love were clearly written on his face. "I love you Sev, thank you for always being there for me, even when I don't want you to be. I need you so much." She raised herself up enough to kiss him gently. She was pleased when she found herself in his arms and when the kiss became much more passionate.  
  
Morgan was disappointed when Severus finally pulled away, she didn't want the moment to end. "You know," she gently traced a finger across his chest, "we won't be needed anywhere for at least another hour yet." She smiled at the look she got; it was one of pure adoration and love.  
  
The first part of the week had passed quickly, and now Kamen, Dierna, and Serena were intent on getting outside before they could get roped into doing anymore works. With two days till the rest of the students arrived there was still a lot for the professors to prepare, and they had been forced to help out wherever they were needed.  
  
"Almost there," Kamen grinned as they reached the main entry way, "if we can get outside and down by the lake they won't even bother with coming to get us to help out more."  
  
"Excellent," Serena grinned, "I don't plan on spending anymore time helping anyone clean and sort through their classrooms, it's like we've spent the last few days in detention."  
  
"Dierna!" Severus came striding up.  
  
There was a collective groan; they had been so close to escaping.  
  
Dierna faced her father with ill concealed annoyance on her face, "what?"  
  
"I believe you promised to help me with a few projects today."  
  
"But Dad can't I just..." she stopped as she noticed the look she was getting. It wouldn't be worth arguing with him. "Fine, I'll be there in a few minutes, can I do something else real quick?"  
  
Severus frowned, "you will be down in my office in ten minutes, I better not have to come looking for you again." He shifted his attention to Kamen and Serena, "Don't the two of you have something productive you could be doing? Because if you don't, I'm sure I could find something for you to do." He raised a questioning eyebrow at them.  
  
"Dad, we'll help out again later, I promise, but we just wanted to get outside for awhile." Serena desperately hoped he would just leave them alone.  
  
Severus didn't soften his glare at all, "fine, but don't waste your whole day, there is still a lot to get done around here." He turned back to Dierna, "In my office in ten minutes, do not be late." He turned on his heel and stalked off towards the dungeons.  
  
"Well, this day officially sucks now," Dierna glared after the retreating figure of her father, "just how I want to spend the last of my vacation, stuck in the dungeons with him while he's in a bad mood."  
  
Serena sighed, "Well now that all of our plans for the day have been ruined you better get going, he's only going to end up in a worse mood if you keep him waiting."  
  
Dierna sighed, "I'm going, I'm going, I just want to get something from outside first.

* * *

The two guards moved down the hallway at a quick pace, ignoring the cries and pleas of the prisoners. They stopped in front of a cell at the far end of the hallway. In it was a man with deathly pale skin and red eyes; he was slumped in a corner, his breathing shallow and uneven.  
  
"I don't know about this Rob, do you really think there's a chance someone will try to break him out? I just have trouble believing that anyone would want to get him out of here."  
  
"Bill, you know as well as I do, he would be an important asset to them new dark forces, he was their leader at one time after all."  
  
"But he would be useless to them now, what with him having gone through the dementor's kiss and all. He wouldn't be any use to them now would he?"  
  
"Ahhhh... you see, that's where yer wrong. They could use him as a figure head of sorts. That would probably attract a lot more people. We'll have to keep a close watch over this one. Don't want to think about what would happen if he slipped through our fingers."  
  
"That's true, that would make things awful tricky for the Ministry, not to mention the spot it would put us into for letting him get away. We can't have that."

* * *

Dierna entered her father's office; she glanced at the clock on the wall. She was a bit late, hopefully he wouldn't notice.  
  
"You're late."  
  
Dierna rolled her eyes, how typical, "At least I'm here." She took an empty jar off of one of the tables and after filling it with water put the bouquet of flowers she was holding and set it on the corner of her father's desk.  
  
"I have told you before that I do not want that clutter in my office."  
  
"Its not clutter. Besides, if I have to spend my day down here I need something to help brighten this room up. It's always so dark and musty down here." She wrinkled her nose at the staleness of the room.  
  
Severus chose to ignore that comment; he wasn't in the mood to argue with his daughter today. He pointed at a row of jars and blank labels, "fill out those labels and put them on those jars, and write neatly."  
  
Dierna groaned inwardly, of course it had to be boring mindless work. She worked through the labels quickly, hoping that when she finished them he would let her go.  
  
"Is all of your homework done?"  
  
Dierna let out a tiny gasp of surprise as she looked up from her work, she had completely forgotten about her homework, "well...."  
  
"Adelaide Dierna Snape! Do you mean to tell me that you have not finished your homework yet? Which, I might add, is due in two days. You have had the entire summer to work on it." Severus frowned at her.

"No sir, I mean that I have not yet begun."

"You have had the entire summer..."  
  
"I guess I just forgot about it..." she trailed off, the look she was getting did not portend well.  
  
Severus crossed his arms over his chest, "All the books you will need are on my bookshelf down here and I have plenty of parchment in my desk. Get started now, you are not leaving here until all of your homework is done. I see that I will have to personally supervise you to make sure there is no more procrastinating."

* * *

Nimue was helping her mother organize her office. Morgan's office was far different than her husband's. It was light and airy, with lots of windows and colorful wall hangings. Nimue enjoyed working in there, it was so peaceful. She needed the sense of peace and security that it offered, her mind was running in chaos at the moment.  
  
She worked quietly and quickly, allowing her mind to work, trying to work out the reasoning behind all that had been happening.  
  
Morgan noticed how quiet her daughter was being and decided to try and pull her into some conversation, "Are you excited about the new classes you'll be starting this year?  
  
Nimue shrugged, "I guess I'm kinda indifferent about it, except for your class of course," she smiled at her mother.  
  
Morgan smiled back, "I'm glad you're at least taking my class, none of your siblings ever have." She laughed, "although I don't blame them, I have a feeling they would get out of potions if at all possible, I know it's hard on you kids to have me and your father here as teachers."  
  
"Mum, does divination really work?"  
  
Morgan frowned, "that all depends on the type of divination you're talking about. If you are referring to the little shows Professor Trelawny puts on then no. But, there have been real predictions made before."  
  
"Oh..."  
  
"Why do you ask?"  
  
"I was just wondering," Nimue thought about the few visions she had seen, she wondered if they were real or simply a product of her imagination.  
  
"Is something bothering you dear?"  
  
Nimue put on a smile, "No Mum, everything is fine." She hoped that it would be. 


	14. Chapter 14

Dierna started on her homework, working on one side of her father's desk. She decided to work on his essay first. She quickly finished her potions essay, and snuck a quick glance at her father, who was working on some papers, trying to determine how good of a mood he was in now. She decided to take her chances, "Dad?"  
  
"Hmmm..."  
  
"Will you proof read my paper?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Please..."  
  
"No."  
  
Dierna bit her lip, trying to figure out a way to talk around him, "Why not?"  
  
"Because it is not fair to my other students if I proof read your paper for you."  
  
"Come on Dad! Please, just make sure there are no major problems, I'm not asking for help on it." Dierna got up out of her seat and moved behind her father's chair and threw her arms around him from behind, leaning over his shoulder, "Please..."  
  
Severus sighed, "Fine," he picked up her paper, "do you mind if I mark on it?"  
  
Dierna frowned, "but if you mark on it I'll have to rewrite the whole thing."  
  
"Do you want me to do this or not?"  
  
Dierna groaned inwardly, knowing that she was going to have to recopy the entire paper, "fine, mark on it, I don't care."  
  
Severus picked up his quill as he started to read the paper, "I can't do this if you're going to hang over me like that."  
  
Dierna moved back to her seat at the other side of the desk and leafed through a book on medieval potions, the only sound in the room was the occasional scratch of the quill as her father checked her paper.  
  
"Here," Severus handed the paper back to his daughter.  
  
Dierna raised her eyebrows at the amount of red marks on the paper, "was it really that bad?"  
  
Severus almost smiled, "no it wasn't. It is factually correct and well written; there were only a few minor problems with the actual paper. However," he fixed his daughter with a pointed stare, "I can see that I should invest in a dictionary for you, your spelling is absolutely atrocious."  
  
"Would you really take off points for spelling?"  
  
"If it's as bad as that I will. I am willing to overlook a few errors, but that is horrendous." He frowned at her, "I hope you don't turn in work like that in any of your classes."  
  
Dierna rolled her eyes, "come on Dad, it wasn't really that bad, was it?"  
  
Severus continued to level her with a stern look, concealing his amusement, "You misspelled the word 'potion' once, you tell me how bad it was." The corner of his mouth twitched in amusement as Dierna groaned as she flipped through the paper looking for that part of it. "I suggest that you take your time writing in the future. Your last minute work is always a bit lacking."  
  
Dierna quickly looked up, "You can tell how long I spend writing my papers?"  
  
Severus did smile at that, "yes, I can tell how much time and effort all of my students put into their work."  
  
Dierna sighed, "Great, well that piece of information just makes my day," her voice dripped with sarcasm.

* * *

Remus, Sirius, Charlie, and Harry were walking together around the perimeter of the school grounds where they met the forbidden forest. They were reinforcing the last of the protection spells that surrounded the school.  
  
They worked in companionable silence, intent on getting finishing the job quickly and efficiently.  
  
Sirius looked up at the slight noise that came from the forest, but decided it was probably nothing, "well, I'd say that we're finished up here. You all ready to head in?"  
  
The other three men nodded their agreement and they started walking back up towards the school.  
  
Talk feel to their families, particularly Sirius' upcoming wedding as they walked. Sirius grinned foolishly as he was teased about taking so long to finally settle down. "Hey guys, lay off," he held his hands out, trying to ward off any more verbal abuse, "instead of harping on me about taking forever why don't you bug Moony, he's still unattached."  
  
"He's right you know," Charlie grinned, "you're way behind the rest of us, come December you'll be the only one of this group left without wife and kids. I should talk to Meg about it. You say anything to one of our women and the rest of them know by the same evening. I bet all the Weasley women would be more than happy to play matchmaker for you Remus."  
  
Remus grinned, "I don't think so, I can only imagine the number of women I would have thrust at me then. But, speaking of women how is Meg?"  
  
"Great way to change the subject on us Moony," Sirius growled, "we're just trying to do you a favor.  
  
Charlie smiled, "Meg is fine, as is the newest little one."  
  
Harry shot a teasing glance at his best friend's older brother, "How many does that make now, it's eight isn't it?"  
  
Harry quickly ducked the arm that was swung at his head, "We have five children Potter and you know it." Charlie laughed good-naturedly.  
  
Remus smiled at the banter, "Charlie, what is the newest one's name again, I can't remember."  
  
Charlie smiled proudly, "His name is Alan Arthur, want to see pictures?"  
  
Sirius exchanged a knowing look with Harry, making the younger man blush slightly. Harry had been the same way when his kids were babies, always pulling out pictures to show anyone and everyone.  
  
Harry grinned sheepishly, "don't give me that look Sirius, you'll be doing the same thing soon enough."  
  
"I suppose I will," Sirius smiled wryly, "I should start carrying pictures of Willow with me, she's already calling me 'Daddy'" he smiled fondly as he pictured the darling four year old who in only a few months really would be his daughter. He loved the fact that with her straight black hair and adorable large blue eyes she could easily pass as his biological daughter.  
  
Harry punched Sirius in the arm, "snap out of it! I swear you get lost in thought so often these days; you need to get married soon. Hopefully that will bring you back down to earth with the rest of us."  
  
Sirius grinned as he threw an arm around Harry's shoulders, "trust me, it can't happen soon enough."

* * *

Nimue paused in front of a mirror in the girls' dorm. Her head began to ache as she stared at the mirror. She watched as the image began to waver, she took a step closer, trying to see what was happening. Her reflection dissolved and the swirling colors rearranged themselves to form a new picture.  
  
Nimue held her breath, her head was throbbing painfully. She thought that if she moved away from the mirror the dull pain might go away, but she was too intrigued by what was happening, she couldn't stop looking at the mirror. She moved closer, till her face was merely a handbreadth away from the mirror, part of her mind wandered if anyone else would see what was happening in the mirror if they walked by, or if it was something only she could see.  
  
The image in the mirror was still blurry, but as she watched it came into focus, and she could hear the voices of the people in the new image. She had never heard voices before when an image like this appeared. But, she had never had a vision like this before either. The only other visions she had had been part of what she was seeing, like one was on top of the other. This was very different.  
  
She watched and listened,  
  
_"Sir, are you sure we should go through with this. Will he be any use to use?"  
  
"Of course he will you fool!" The man speaking backhanded the other man, sending him sprawling. "He will be useful to us, just as we will be useful to him."  
_  
Nimue tried to figure out who the two men were, but the one who had been struck had a black cloak pulled over his face. And the other man had his back to her. She leaned in closer, trying to find any clue as to who they were or where they were, but the image began to swirl again. As it refocused she saw two men, with black cloaks like the man in the last image. However, these men were in a forest. They were surrounded by the shadowy trees.  
  
_ "We need to set up our defenses quickly then get out of here. This is too close to comfort for me."  
  
"I agree, we could be found at any time."_  
  
Nimue tried to figure out where they were. Could they be close to Hogwarts? But the image faded out again. She held her breath, waiting to see what would happen next, but the mirror simply went back to normal, showing her own reflection.  
  
Her breath sounded loud in her ears and the throbbing in her head gradually diminished. She began to shake. What she had seen scared her and she had no idea what to do about it.

* * *

Dierna and Serena ran at a steady pace, completing yet another lap around the quidditch pitch.  
  
"Hey, want to run someplace else, somewhere with shade." Serena wiped the sweat off her forehead. It was there last chance for quality run time since the rest of the students would be coming the next evening. Once classes started they rarely found time to go running together.  
  
"Sure," Dierna was breathing hard and she could feel the sweat running down her back and forehead, "anything to get us out of this sun for awhile."  
  
They headed out of the quidditch pitch, running up the slight incline back towards the school. Serena nodded her head in the direction of the forbidden forest, "plenty of shade in there, you up for some cross country running?"  
  
Dierna grinned, "Works for me."  
  
They entered the forest using a run down path, which was quickly being encroached upon by the dark towering trees and the dense underbrush. They ran in silence for awhile, enjoying the shade the trees provided, but with a growing sense of unease as they moved deeper into the forest.  
  
"Hey, you want to head back now?" Serena ducked to avoid a low hanging branch, being cautious all the time of the uneven footing caused by tree roots.  
  
"Sure, I don't really like..." Dierna stopped abruptly as Serena, who had been in the lead, skidded to a halt.  
  
There was a small clearing ahead of them, and in the clearing were two figures covered in long black cloaks, despite the heat of the later summer day.  
  
Dierna grabbed Serena's arm, trying to pull her back the way they had come, "Come on, before they see us," she hissed under her breath.  
  
"Too late," Serena gasped, "run!"  
  
The two girls turned around and took off down the worn path they had been following. They could hear their pursuers close behind, throwing curses at them. Dierna felt something hit her in the back, like a charge of electricity. The force knocked her to the ground; she winced in pain when her head hit a sharp rock. She tried to push herself up, looking around frantically for her sister.  
  
Serena was sprawled a few feet away, trying to get up while cradling her left wrist. Both girls watched in panic as the two figures approached them. They were only a few yards away when a large figure ran between them. It was one of the centaurs that populated the forest.  
  
The centaur turned to the girls, "run, get out of here as quickly as you can. I'll keep them busy." He turned back to the hooded figures who were backing up in fear.  
  
Dierna was up instantly, barely conscious of the sharp pain in her head. She quickly helped Serena to her feet and they sprinted back towards the school. They ran, driven by terror for what seemed like an eternity. It hadn't felt like it took this long on the way in.  
  
Finally they saw a break in the trees; it was all the incentive they needed to quicken their pace. When they finally broke through the tree line a wave of relief passed over them, quickly followed by shock.  
  
Serena's legs gave out from under her and she collapsed in a heap. Dierna was instantly at her side.  
  
"Are... you... ok?" Dierna pushed the question out, breathing heavily and shaking.  
  
"What... who... were they?" Serena wasn't in any better condition.  
  
They looked up to see Sirius coming towards them angrily, "I saw you girls coming out of the forbidden forest. What were you doing in there?" His expression changed to one of concern as he got closer, "What happened?"  
  
Dierna and Serena spoke at the same time, their words tumbling over one another too quickly and confused for Sirius to follow. He held out a hand to silence them, "forget about the explanation for now. You two need to get inside and I think a trip to the hospital wing is in order."  
  
He gently helped Serena, who was still favoring her left wrist, to her feet. "Do you think you broke it?"  
  
Serena shrugged, "don't know, but it hurts like hell."  
  
Sirius led the girls back up to the school, moving them along as quickly as they could manage. He was relieved to see that Severus and Morgan were out in the courtyard talking with Remus. He would be more than happy to hand the girls off to their parents to be taken care of.  
  
Morgan was the first to see the approaching trio, she knew immediately that something wasn't right. She laid a hand on Severus' arm as she felt a rush of panic, "something's wrong..." She rushed over to them, followed closely by Severus and Remus.  
  
"What's wrong?!" Morgan quickly took in the state her daughters were in. "Are you alright?" She quickly began looking over Serena, examining her wrist, which she quickly pronounced broken.  
  
"How did this happen?" Severus looked at Dierna with concern.  
  
"We were running and then they attacked us and then he stopped them." Dierna could tell that her rambling made no sense, but she was still in shock from what had happened. She winced when her father gently ran his fingers over the side of her head where she had fallen on the rock. For the first time she was aware of the trickle of blood coming from that spot.  
  
Severus took a more direct approach of questioning since he hadn't followed Dierna's cryptic answer at all, "who attacked you?"  
  
Dierna took a deep breath, fighting back the pain in her head, and shakily answered as best she could, "it was two men in black cloaks, we never saw their faces."  
  
"Who stopped them from attacking you?" Severus continued to question them as he gently turned Dierna's head to get a better look at the jagged gash that was dangerously near her temple.  
  
Serena answered in a low whisper, "a centaur."  
  
Severus frowned, "where were you running at?"  
  
Neither of the girls would look at him.  
  
He repeated the question more sternly, "where were you running at?"  
  
Dierna mumbled an answer, "in the forest."  
  
"WHAT?!" he roared, "You know how dangerous the forest is. I have told you time and again that you are to stay out of there!"  
  
Serena looked at the ground avoiding her father's angry glare, "we didn't think..."  
  
Severus cut her off, "No, you didn't think. I can't believe that you would do something as irresponsible and stupid as that! What would possess you to even think about going into the forbidden forest?!" He was fuming, why was it that they deliberately disobeyed nearly every rule he set for them?  
  
Sirius and Remus stood to one side, listening somewhat uncomfortably to Severus' tirade as he berated his daughters.  
  
Severus finally paused; Dierna and Serena glanced up at him when he stopped yelling, "you will never do that again, understood?"  
  
The girls nodded mutely.  
  
Severus sighed, "It scares me to death to think about what could have happened to you today. I am so glad you are safe," his voice was thick with emotion as he embraced them both carefully, mindful of their injuries. "Come on, I want to get the two of you in the hospital wing as quickly as possible." He produced a clean handkerchief, which he folded and gently pressed against the gash on Dierna's head, "hold that there," he commanded softly as he moved to help Serena who looked about ready to collapse again.  
  
Morgan gently took Dierna's arm as they headed toward the infirmary, she was so glad her children were safe now, but it terrified her to think that the enemy was so close. "Are you alright darling?"  
  
"I'll live," Dierna winced as she moved the handkerchief away from the gash on her head, surprised at how much it was still bleeding.  
  
"Leave that alone darling, you want to keep pressure on it," Morgan gently guided Dierna's hand back up so that she was covering the gash again.  
  
"Mum, how mad do you think Dad is?"  
  
Morgan smiled gently, "if you're asking if you are in trouble than the answer is no. He's not really mad, just very concerned, as am I. That really was not the brightest thing you girls have done."  
  
Dierna sighed and ducked her head; sometimes her mother's gentle reproaches had more effect than her father's yelling. "I'm sorry Mum, we shouldn't have done that."  
  
"I just hope you have learned from this, hopefully you'll start listening to your father and me when we tell you not to do something."  
  
Dierna rolled her eyes, but winced at the pain it caused, "come on Mum, life wouldn't be quite so entertaining for you if we didn't keep you constantly on your toes." 


	15. Chapter 15

"Hey, you ready yet Moony? I thought you were supposed to have left by now."  
  
"I know Padfoot; I'm on my way now."  
  
Sirius grinned at his friend, "you wouldn't want to leave the new first years in suspense now would you? Besides the rest of the students will be here anytime."  
  
"I'm going, I'm going, besides, you need to get yourself to the Great Hall." Remus took off down the hallway, rushing so as not to be late.  
  
Sirius grinned and sauntered off in the other direction. As he entered the Great Hall he couldn't help but be impressed. He thought it always looked magnificent. He leaned his head back to get a better view of the enchanted ceiling and the floating candle sticks. He understood completely how many students were speechless upon entering the Great Hall for the first time. However, the Snape children were being anything but quiet as the waited impatiently on the other side of the room. Sirius laughed, the twins and Kamen had obviously been up to something, Severus was over there now, probably telling them to behave for about the millionth time, Sirius thought wryly.  
  
Kamen smiled roguishly at his sisters, "well, this is it, the end of our freedom for yet another term," he watched as their father walked away, "now we have to make sure we're not caught when we do something."  
  
Serena rolled her eyes, "Kamen, I swear, you look for trouble and then you drag us in with you."  
  
"But it's more fun that way, besides, I like having accomplices who can take the blame." He winked at her.  
  
Serena was about to make an angry retort when the large doors to the Great Hall were thrown open. Dierna let out a squeal as one Gryffindor boy rushed in ahead of the other students and wrapped his arms around her, spinning her around, before kissing her on the cheek; he then repeated the process with Serena.  
  
"And how are my best girls? I missed you ladies this summer."  
  
"Nick, its soooo good to see you!" Dierna grinned widely at her friend as he slipped his arms around her and Serena's shoulders as they sat down at the Gryffindor table. "Now we can really start having fun."  
  
"I am so ready for you girls this year, I have lots planned already." His joking expression turned serious, "now, I hope that you have been practicing over the summer, I don't like having slackers on my team."  
  
Serena laughed, "Yes captain, we have been practicing."  
  
Nick laughed, unable to keep up the solemn face any longer. He was captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team, and following in the steps of his father, Oliver Wood, he was the team keeper.  
  
Kamen slid into a seat across from them, with William Darcy next to him. "So Wood got any great plays planned out for us?"  
  
Nick smiled, "yeah, although I should probably wait till a team meeting to talk about them," he paused for a moment, "then again, I have most of my team here don't I?" He grinned, Dierna, Kamen, and William were the team chases, and Serena was one of the beaters, they were only missing two members from their house team.  
  
As Nick turned back to Dierna and Serena, who were busily telling him about what had happened the day before in the forbidden forest, William turned to Kamen, who was his closest friend. "Look at that git, he keeps trying to talk to me, even bought me some new quidditch play books; he's trying to buy me over to his side." He nodded his head towards the head table, glaring at Sirius Black, the fool that was going to marry his mother.  
  
Kamen frowned slightly, he had no problems with Professor Black, but out of loyalty to his friend he would work to distance himself from the offending man. "I'm sure that between the two of us we can avoid him whenever possible, and perhaps prepare a few 'surprises' for him as well."  
  
William shook his head, trying to dispel the angry thoughts that filled his head. His father had been dead for just a couple of years, and yet his mother was already remarrying. And of course she had to choose this fool. He turned to grin at his friend, "Yes, I'm sure we'll be able to manage something."  
  
The chatter in the Great Hall came to a halt when the doors opened again. Remus Lupin was at the head of a scared looking bunch of first years, who were looking around themselves in awe at their impressive surroundings.  
  
Everyone watched as the first years were led to the front of the Great Hall and while Remus produced a three legged stool and brought out the sorting hat. He sat the sorting hat on the stool and everyone watched as the hat began its song.  
  
Dierna leaned over Nick to talk with Serena, "the seventh year boys are having a party tonight, and they wanted to know if we're in or not. They promised to have plenty of 'refreshments'. What do you think?"  
  
Serena shook her head, "probably not a good idea, I have no desire to do anything like that before the first day of classes."  
  
Dierna smiled in relief, "good, I don't particularly feel like going either." She sat back up and smiled when Nick slid an arm around her waist.  
  
"It's good to be back with my girls, my life isn't nearly as much fun when you're not around."  
  
Dierna leaned her head against his shoulder; she loved having Nick as a best friend. They were very loyal to each other. Nick even went so far as to ward of any guys who took an interest in Dierna, he said that it was because he had to make sure Stefan didn't end up with any competition.  
  
The sorting hat had finished its song and now Remus had pulled out a list with the names of all the first years on it.  
  
As he started to go through the names Morgan leaned in close to Severus, "so, want to place any bets this year on where children of alumni get sorted?"  
  
"No, I find it absolutely disgraceful that you would even suggest something of that nature," he frowned at her.  
  
Morgan winked at him, "that's just because you lost last year."  
  
"That is beside the point."  
  
Morgan grinned unrepentantly, "you know you want to smile... you want to. Come one Sev, drop the stern teacher act and smile for me."  
  
"Stop it Morgan," he growled at her.  
  
"You're no fun when you act like a teacher."  
  
"I'm trying to learn the names of students I will have in class, would you leave me alone."  
  
Morgan tried desperately not to laugh; he was so much fun to tease. She knew that she would hear about this later, not that she minded. She enjoyed seeing her husband drop the teacher act and transform into the man that she desperately loved.  
  
She was about to try start bothering him again when a name caught her attention.  
  
"Potter, Brandon," she heard Remus call out.  
  
She noticed that Harry, who was on her other side leaned forward slightly, impatiently waiting to see where his son would be placed.  
  
"Slytherin!" the sorting hat cried out.  
  
Harry felt his jaw drop; he quickly collected himself enough to clap as his son made his way to the Slytherin table.  
  
Severus nearly chocked as he tried to hold back his laughter. The look on Potter's face had been priceless.  
  
"Stop that," Morgan hissed as she pinched her husband's arm, "honestly Sev, control yourself."  
  
Severus leaned over his wife, "well Potter now you have some vague idea of how I feel. Don't worry; I'm sure that your son will be very happy in my house."  
  
Harry ran a hand through his messy hair, "well, I can honestly say that I wasn't expecting that." He grinned wryly, "but I guess the sorting hat knows what its doing."  
  
Morgan smiled and placed her hand over Harry's, "don't let Sev get to you, just be warned, he's not going to drop this anytime soon."  
  
Morgan watched the rest of the sorting ceremony in silence, smiling broadly when Lori was sorted into Gryffindor. Her smile only widened when Severus made a low comment about having another "damnable Gryffindor" in the family.  
  
Before the feast began Professor McGonagall made several start of term announcements, stressing the fact that the forbidden forest was still of limits, her gaze lingering on the Gryffindor table as she made that announcement. After the incidents of the day before the staff had had an urgent meeting concerning the safety of the school. However, since that attack had occurred off of the school grounds where there were no protections in use they could do nothing else for the time being. But, the Ministry had been alerted and Minerva could only hope that any further attacks could be prevented.

* * *

At what felt like way too early to most of the students the next morning, the Great Hall began to fill has everyone headed down for breakfast. Kamen and William groggily made their way to the Gryffindor table and sat down near Nick, Dierna, and Serena, who were already become inseparable again. Nimue and Ophelia were sitting together a little further down the table chatting happily.  
  
Kamen buried his head in his arms when he sat down at the table, "remind me never to throw a party like that on a school night again."  
  
Serena grinned wickedly, "last night a bit rough?"  
  
William answered when he saw that Kamen had fallen asleep, "lets put it this way, we didn't get to bed till around 4:30."  
  
Professor Lupin came by at that moment with their schedules; he tapped Kamen on the shoulder, "alright sleeping beauty, time to wake up and make sure you get to bed at a decent time tonight, I don't want you falling asleep in my class tomorrow."  
  
"Yeah, alright, I'm up, I'm awake, leave me alone," Kamen took his schedule and groaned when he looked at it, "I should just go back to bed. This is too cruel; I have potions first this morning. Having Dad first thing on a Monday morning is never a good thing."  
  
"We've got you beat," Severna sighed as she skimmed her schedule, "we have potions Friday afternoon. All of his other classes will have already had time to piss him off by the time we get to him."

* * *

Ginny rushed to answer the door, "Meg, I'm so glad you were able to make it.  
  
She embraced her sister-in-law warmly. For as long as their husbands had been teachers Ginny and Meg had made sure to get together at least once a week to visit over tea. The two women smiled as Lily rushed in to drag two of Meg's children off to play, eight year old Kassandra and 6 year old Diana, who both had their father's red hair and soft brown eyes.  
  
"Can I hold him?"  
  
"Of course," Meg handed a sleeping Alan over to Ginny, who cradled the infant lovingly as they made their way into the living room. Meg sat down on the couch, helping her three year old twins, Bran and Branwen up beside her. With their curly blond hair and large bright blue eyes the toddles strongly resembled their mother in looks.  
  
Ginny took a seat in a chair across from Meg, she gazed down at the tiny infant in her arms, who was waking up, "he's so adorable Meg. With that red hair and your beautiful blue eyes, but I think he's going to look just like his daddy when he gets older." She smiled a git sadly, "it's been a long time since I've had one this small."  
  
Meg grinned and winked at her friend, "well you're welcome to one of mine if you want. Charlie can only make it home on the weekends and handling the five of them on my own during the week is going to get old real fast."  
  
Ginny laughed, "I can only imagine. My Lily is such a sweetheart, but she can be a real handful sometimes. I only wish Harry would consider coming home on the weekends..." she sighed.  
  
"Oh Ginny, are things still going that bad?"  
  
Ginny nodded miserably, "I just don't know what to do anymore. The first few years were amazing; we were so in love with each other. Then, I don't know what happened. Harry started becoming distant. I tried for so long, I tried so many ways. I'm ready to just give up."  
  
Meg stood up and embraced Ginny, "Have you discussed your options yet?"  
  
Ginny shook her head, "not yet, we're planning on making a decision over Christmas break."  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"I want this marriage to work, but I just don't think it will. I love him Meg; I love him more than I can say. But, I'm tired; I'm tired of living my life for someone who doesn't appreciate me. I can't even remember the last time he told me that he loved me. When he stopped saying it I did too. I know this isn't all his fault, I know I'm partly to blame. I don't think it would be right for us to stay together if our only reason to is the children, that's not good enough for me."  
  
"Ginny, listen to me," Meg gently took place her hands on either side of Ginny's face, "you will get through this, no matter what happens to your marriage you will get through this. And me and Charlie will be there for you, I promise. You don't have to go through this alone."

* * *

Dierna, Serena, and Nick walked quickly along the hall. They had loitered around after their History of Magic class and now had to rush if they were going to make it to Transfiguration on time.  
  
Serena fell back slightly, there was a large group of Slytherins coming from the opposite direction and taking up most of the hallway. One tall blond haired Slytherin boy ran into Serena, knocking both of their books to the ground. "Watch where you're going Gryffindor," his voice was laced with malice.  
  
Serena knelt down to pick up her books as the Slytherin boy knelt down very close to her, gathering his belongings. "Meet me tonight at 8?" He whispered for her ears only.  
  
Serena shook her head, "no, make it 9, I can't get out before then."  
  
"Same place?"  
  
She nodded silently.  
  
They both stood up, "try to be more careful next time _Gryffindor_," he stressed the name, making it sound like an insult.  
  
Serena quickly hurried to catch up with Dierna and Nick who were waiting for her further up the hallway, a small smile played at her lips. She was playing with fire and she liked it.

* * *

"I can't believe we have homework after only one day back," Dierna groaned as she opened her transfiguration book. "This is cruel; we shouldn't have to do any work on during the first week back.  
  
Serena merely mumbled an absent reply; she was too busy watching the clock. It was getting very close to 9. "I think I left something in the library, I'll be back later." Serena got up and quickly left the Gryffindor common room through the portrait hole.  
  
Dierna shook her head; they hadn't been in the library at all. But she smiled; she knew exactly where her sister was going and loved it. It was all very secretive and romantic to her mind.  
  
Serena quickly made her way down a long deserted corridor and slipped outside using a secret passage way. She moved along the wall of the school, glancing up at the dark sky. The twilight was very beautiful. She felt a slight shiver run up her back as she finally reached the greenhouses; she ducked behind the farthest one and waited.  
  
She tensed, holding her breath when she heard footsteps coming in her direction but sighed when Mark came around the corner. She smiled at him in the dark, with his golden blond hair and deep grey eyes she thought he was one of the most dashing guys she had ever seen.  
  
Mark wrapped his arms around Serena and kissed her deeply, delighting in the way she responded to his touch. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he pulled her into him, before dipping his head to nuzzle her neck. "I missed you this summer."  
  
Serena sighed, "I missed you too."  
  
"Do we want to continue keeping this a secret?"  
  
"Yes, you know what my dad would be like if he found out I had a boyfriend. The two of us would never get any peace. We would be watched constantly," she buried her face in his chest.  
  
"I know, besides the thought of the crap we would have to put up from our houses doesn't sound very appealing."  
  
"This is ridiculous. Why can't they just let us have a normal relationship?"  
  
Mark laughed softly as he quoted, "two houses, both alike in dignity..."  
  
Serena laughed too, "that is so true, but don't get any crazy ideas about me sacrificing myself for you." She narrowed her eyes as she looked up at him.  
  
"You're cute when you do that," he tapped her on the nose with one finger. Serena wrinkled her nose in disgust when he did that, which only made him laugh harder. "I love you."  
  
Serena wrapped her arms around him again, "love you too."  
  
"How long should we stay out here?"  
  
She sighed, "Probably not too much longer, Dierna can only cover for me for so long. Besides, I have homework to work on."  
  
Mark rolled his eyes at her, "come on, I'm much more important than any homework you have."  
  
"I should go...  
  
"No, stay with me."  
  
"I can't, and you know that."  
  
Mark kissed her again, gently cradling her face between his hands. He deepened the kiss when her hands began to wander.  
  
Serena pulled away, "I need to go."  
  
"Meet me tomorrow?"  
  
"Of course."

* * *

Stefan pulled the long black cloak around him, hardly aware of the warm night breeze. He felt very cold inside. He raised his hand and knocked on the old wooden door and felt his heart clutch in terror when it slowly swung open.  
  
Gathering all of the courage he could while facing Walden Macnair, who had his wand aimed at him, Stefan dove right in, "I've come in response to the letter you sent me. I wish to join your forces."  
  
Macnair kept the want trained on Stefan; ready in case the younger man should try anything, "why the sudden change of heart MacNeill?"  
  
"I feel that it is my duty. I intend to carry on the family tradition."  
  
"Ah yes, your uncle was a very valuable asset to Lord Voldemort years ago. You wish to follow his example?"  
  
"I wish to do what is required of me, what will serve my best interests," Stefan neatly avoided the question.  
  
Macnair observed the young man in front of him and slowly lowered his wand, "join us," he took a step backwards allowing Stefan to enter the old house.  
  
Stefan glanced around his surroundings, his eyes lingering for a moment on the body of a young man who lay on his back, eyes glazed over and with a terrified and pained expression on his face, he was very obviously dead.  
  
Macnair followed the direction of Stefan's gaze, "a filthy mudblood, got a little too close to our encampment here. He provided us with several hours of entertainment before we let him die." A smile slowly spread across Macnair's face.  
  
Stefan worked hard to suppress a shudder, he was treading a very fine line here and the message was obvious. Make one false step and that muggle's fate would become his own. "What do you wish of me? I want to serve the ways of the dark lord to the best of my capability." He made his voice hard and unemotional as he turned away from the corpse.  
  
Macnair nodded sharply, "we can use you, you have certain... connections that will be valuable to us."  
  
"I'm afraid I don't understand sir, my position at the Ministry isn't high enough for me to have any influence," Stefan knew that Macnair didn't care about his job at the Ministry, he had a very bad feeling he knew exactly what connections the older man was referring to. He just wanted to hear the other man say it to confirm his suspicions.  
  
"You fool! We have already infiltrated nearly every level of the Ministry in every department. That is not why you are valuable you arrogant idiot. One of our main goals is to exact revenge against traitors, those who turned on Voldemort when he needed his loyal followers the most. No, it is not your Ministry connections that interest me. I am more concerned with your connections to the Snape family."  
  
Stefan visibly paled at that announcement, "would you hurt Dierna?"  
  
"That is not my concern, we will do as we are commanded and you would do well to remember that.  
  
Stefan quickly tried to cover himself; he had to be more careful. He couldn't let his emotions get in the way; he had a job to do. "I will do what is asked of me, I am sorry if I offended you in any way sir."  
  
Macnair brushed it off, "I am not concerned with that now. However, we have a more pressing matter to take care of now. There is currently a prisoner being held in Azkaban that will be of great use to use. We are going to get him out. You will aid us with the rescue mission; it will be your first test of loyalty to our master." 


	16. Chapter 16

"Dierna?" It was the end of the week and it had taken Nimue a long time to gather enough courage to ask someone about what had been bothering her for so long.  
  
"Hmmm..." Dierna glanced up from her paper, she was attempting to put the finishing touches on her potions essay, which she almost had done, before she headed down to class.  
  
"Have you ever heard of anyone having visions?" Nimue asked softly.  
  
"No, why?"  
  
"Oh... no reason I guess. But do you think that people could have precognitive visions?"  
  
"I supposed so," Dierna finished her paper, hoping there were no major problems as she didn't have time to check it. "Just don't ask Trelawny about any visions, she'll assume that you're interested in becoming a prophetess or something and she'll never leave you alone."  
  
Nimue didn't respond, she just sat looking at her hands, which were folded in her lap.  
  
Dierna realized what Nimue was trying to tell her as the silence continued, "Nimue, you're not having visions, are you?"  
  
Nimue shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know."  
  
Dierna frowned, "Nimue, that isn't normal, if you think you are you should probably tell Mum and Dad."  
  
"But what if this isn't real? What if I'm just imagining it? What if they don't believe me?"  
  
Dierna sighed; she couldn't imagine her little sister making something like this up. "Well then wait a few weeks, but if it happens again you really should tell them," Dierna gathered her books together.  
  
"I promise I'll tell them if it happens again, thanks Dierna."  
  
"No problem," Dierna headed out the door and tried to push the conversation with Nimue out of her head as she hurried to meet Serena and Nick so that the three of them could walk down to the dungeons for potions class together.  
  
As the trio made their way down into the dungeons they complained about how long the week had been and the horrible amount of homework that they had for the weekend.  
  
"And you know we can count on Dad assigning something that will take at least half the weekend to do," Dierna whined as they approached the classroom.  
  
"Stop complaining Dierna, this stuff comes easy to you. I have to work for my potions grade, you hardly do anything and you still have the highest grade in the class," Serena sighed miserably.  
  
"Hey, it's not my fault if this is my best class. You're the same way in Herbology. Besides, just because I have a good grade in potions doesn't mean that Dad cuts me any slack."  
  
"Why don't both of you stop complaining and cut me some slack. I don't put forth any effort in my classes and my grades suck because of it. Plus, I have a feeling that my dad will kill me if my grades don't improve this year, I'm so screwed." Nick joined the conversation as they entered the potions room and made their way to a table at the back.  
  
"Yeah, well you have one distinct advantage over us Nick," Serena looked pointedly at him, "you're dad isn't here to constantly check up on you. Ours manages to find out our grades before we do."  
  
"Well you two have never gotten a howler, trust me; I have one up on you."  
  
"No you don't," Dierna rolled her eyes at Nick; "we don't get howlers because our parents can yell at us in person. Trust me, that's not fun."  
  
Nick laughed, "Alright, point taken."  
  
The rest of the class showed up quickly, no one dared to be late for Snape's class. It was a combined Slytherin and Gryffindor class, and time had proved that old habits die hard. Severus still appeared to be strongly biased against the Gryffindors and vice versa.  
  
Serena looked up when Mark entered the room, she caught his eye and the two of them shared a small smile before he headed to the front of the class to sit with a group of Slytherins. Serena bit her lip and ducked her head, she loved her secret. It was nice to have something that she shared with only him.  
  
The students all continued their conversations and there was quite a bit of joking around before class started. Since it was the last class of the week for them all of the students were a bit wound up. Serena bent over her desk and scribbled out a quick note to Mark on a scrap of parchment while Nick tormented Dierna.  
  
Dierna and Nick were in the middle of a game of keep away, which involved Nick holding Dierna's quill over her head just out of her reach when the classroom door slammed open. There was immediate silence in the room as all of the students quickly took their seats while Severus strode to the front of the room, his black robes billowing out behind him and a cold expression on his face.  
  
After years of teaching he was still incredibly strict and sometimes cruel in the classroom. He saw no reason to coddle his students, especially since he taught such a dangerous class. He knew that fear would keep them in line for the most part, and if that would keep his students safe he didn't mind that most of them hated him. He would much rather be hated than have a student seriously injured.  
  
He gazed out sternly over the sea of students in front of them, "even though this is our first class together of the term do not expect any sort of leniency. We will be working today on what should be a very simple memory potion; however, my students' work has usually fallen far below my expectations in the past. Try to see if you can get through this simple exercise with fewer mishaps then general." His glare lingered on the Gryffindors while he practically ignored the members of his own house.  
  
Severus copied the ingredients and instructions for the memory potion on the board. This group of sixth years really was one of his better classes intelligence wise; however it also had the most discipline problems.  
  
Dierna, Serena, and Nick kept up a low conversation while they worked at their cauldrons, falling silent whenever Severus came near them as he walked around the classroom.  
  
"I'm glad it's something this easy, I was expecting something worse," Dierna commented.  
  
"Speak for yourself," Serena muttered, "this is hard for some of us."  
  
"I'm taking her side on this one," Nick nodded in Serena's direction, "looks like it will be another year of me seeing if I can coast through without really doing any work."  
  
Dierna and Serena stifled giggles at the completely serious way Nick had made that comment.  
  
"I can't imagine that you three are getting any work done back here with all of this talking going on," Severus stared down at the trio, "10 points from Gryffindor. It will be more if I have to tell you again," he turned on his heel and headed back towards the front of the classroom.  
  
Dierna rolled her eyes, "we really have got to keep a better watch on where he is when we're talking."  
  
"Yeah, no kidding," Serena commented bitterly under her breath.  
  
"You know, I would think that he wouldn't like taking points from his own children," Nick observed from his side of the table.  
  
"I think he does it to prove a point, that he won't treat us any better than his other students," Serena frowned in concentration, intent on getting her potion right.  
  
"Yeah, instead he treats us worse." Dierna commented dryly.  
  
"But of course you never do anything to cause trouble do you?" Nick tried to look innocent as he asked that question. He smiled when he was met with glares.  
  
Dierna sighed, "This class is really boring today."  
  
"Care to make it a bit more interesting?" Nick's eyes were sparkling mischievously.  
  
"How?" Dierna looked at him quizzically.  
  
"I was thinking of having a little wager. Like... 3 galleons says that I can cause a nice little explosion with only the ingredients we're working with. Any takers?"  
  
"I'll definitely take you up on that." Dierna grinned; Nick had already added the beadle antennae to his potion. He could only cause an explosion if he had added them at the same time as he added the pennyroyal roots.  
  
"I'll do you one better," Serena leaned over the table, "Nick, another 3 galleons says that Dierna can do it before you do."  
  
"Hey, I didn't ask to be involved in this..." Dierna frowned then quickly started working again when she caught her father watching them. When he finally looked away she continued, "Fine, but only to prove you wrong Nick."  
  
Serena smiled, "good, I have complete confidence that you can pull this off before him."  
  
"As long as we're all aware of the fact that if we cause one explosion we're going to get another one as an after affect," she nodded in the direction of their father who was continuing to inspect students work.  
  
"Yeah, but I think this will be worth it," Nick winked at her.  
  
Dierna worked quickly, smiling to herself, she hadn't added her beadle antennae yet so all she had to do was throw them in with the pennyroyal roots, it would be very easy. As she moved to do this quickly, intent on winning, she noticed Nick take a small vial out of his pocket and dump it into his cauldron. She did waste time thinking about it however, she merely grabbed Serena's arm and pulled her twin down to the floor as she threw in the two ingredients at the same time that Nick dove under his table.  
  
The entire class turned around when the contents of both Dierna and Nick's cauldrons exploded at the same time.  
  
Dierna and Nick smiled at each other from their position on the floor, "that was so wicked," they said at the same time.  
  
"Well, you guys are in a hell of a lot of trouble now..." Serena trailed off as a very irate Severus made his way to the back of the room as the three teens guiltily scrambled to their feet.  
  
"What happened back here?!" Severus was fuming.  
  
"I don't know it just kind of happened." Dierna tried to look innocent.  
  
"Well in that case I'll tell you exactly what you did wrong." Severus glanced at Nick's cauldron, "Mr. Wood, I'm not quite sure how you managed it but for some reason you put lacewing flies into your potion even though they are not listed as one of the ingredients. Would you care to tell me why?" Severus' voice was low and menacing.  
  
Nick turned red, "I don't know... I guess they might have gotten mixed in with something else in my supply case or something..."  
  
"30 points from Gryffindor for your lack of organization Mr. Wood." He turned to Dierna, "Miss Adelaide, tell me why you added beadle antennae and pennyroyal roots at the same time even though I specifically said in my instructions not to!"  
  
"I made a mistake," Dierna glared right back at her father.  
  
"I find it rather hard to believe that you and Mr. Wood somehow managed to make very similar stupid mistakes at the same time. Explain that to me."  
  
"Like I said, it was an accident. Do you think I'm lying to you?" Dierna kept her voice cool.  
  
"Yes I do. Because I am inclined to think that the two of you planned this little episode, something that was incredibly stupid as you could have hurt yourselves or someone else!"  
  
"Professor?" A Slytherin boy in the front of class glanced toward the back of the room, "I believe that class is supposed to be over with now."  
  
"Class is dismissed, all of you out of here now! Except for you," he gestured to Dierna to stay where she was. "And Mr. Wood, you have a detention, for causing a disturbance in my class."  
  
Dierna packed up her belongings as the rest of the students left. She was fuming that she had been singled out like this to stay behind. Serena gave her arm a quick squeeze, "good luck, and try to control your temper, don't do anything to make him any madder than he already is."  
  
Severus walked to the front of the room to make a note of the point deductions and Nick's detention. He looked up from his grade book and motioned to Dierna, "come here."  
  
Dierna made no attempt to control her temper, "no, if you're going to single me out in class even though I wasn't the only one causing trouble then I shouldn't have to listen to you. If you want to talk to me you can come back here," she narrowed her eyes and kept her voice low and hard.  
  
Severus strode to the back of the classroom, "I will not tolerate being talked to in that manner Adelaide." He reached his daughter and stared down at her for a moment. When she matched his glare silently he was almost proud of her for standing her ground the way she did. However, he was absolutely furious.  
  
Severus grabbed Dierna's ear hard enough to make her yelp and marched back up to his desk pulling her along with him, "I would have thought that you would have learned to do what I tell you when I tell you to do it by now." He let go of her when they reached the front of the room.  
  
Dierna resisted the temptation to reach up and rub her ear, she refused to show any sort of weakness. "Why did you make me stay?"  
  
"Because your behavior in class today was completely uncalled for and disrespectful." Severus glared down at her and tried to resist the growing urge to strangle his daughter.  
  
"But I did the same thing as Nick and you let him go!" Dierna was frustrated with the unfairness of it all.  
  
"No, what you did was completely different!" Severus yelled as he towered over his daughter, "You lied to me just a few minutes ago when you said that what happened was an accident. I don't doubt that Mr. Wood was merely guessing at what would happen with his potion; you on the other hand, knew exactly what you were doing!"  
  
Dierna longed to comment on that but she knew it was true. She checked the angry retort that was on her tongue and merely mumbled, "I'm sorry."  
  
"That's not good enough this time Adelaide," his voice dropped to a low menacing growl that was somehow worse than his loudest yelling, "that was irresponsible and dangerous. You could have hurt yourself or someone else. I'm telling you this upfront, I will not tolerate this kind of disruptive behavior from you this year. Do you think you can learn to behave yourself in class or do we have to take this up with the headmistress?"  
  
Dierna didn't reply she just glared back at him.  
  
"I'll take your silence as a yes, do not disappoint me. I'm taking 40 points from Gryffindor for your actions today and you have detention tomorrow. You can go now."  
  
Dierna gathered her belongings and left the potions classroom quickly. She was glad to see that Nick and Serena had waited for her.  
  
"How bad was it?" Serena asked tentatively.  
  
"40 points from Gryffindor, a detention, and he damn near pulled my ear off." Dierna's voice was bitter.  
  
"Don't let it bother you hon," Nick slid an arm around her waist, "besides, we have practice tonight. It'll give you a great chance to work off some of that aggression. And if you're still upset then you can use me as a punching bag."  
  
"Thanks Nick, I might just take you up on that," Dierna smiled weakly at him.  
  
"That's why I'm here hon," he wrapped his other arm around Serena, "I may get my girls into trouble, but I'm always here for you to beat up on afterwards."

* * *

Stefan made his way back to the secret meeting place the Ministry had designated for his use on this mission. He checked his watch; Viviane should be there any minute. She appeared an instant later and he steadied her when she almost toppled over due to the force of the portkey she had taken. With the high level of security on this mission they couldn't know where they were, they had to rely on portkeys and just hope they hadn't been tampered with.  
  
Viviane smoothed her robes and hair, "how did the meeting with McNair go?"  
  
Stefan grimaced at the memory, "well, besides the fact that there was a muggle corpse on the floor the entire time we talked and I had the distinct impression that he would like nothing better than to blast me to pieces it went fairly well."  
  
"I need details Stefan."  
  
"You're not going to like the details."  
  
"I need to hear them anyways," Viviane looked concerned.  
  
Stefan sighed, "I'm sorry Viviane, but they are interested in my help because of my connections with your family. They want to eradicate all traitors to Voldemort and your father is on the top of their list."  
  
Viviane closed her eyes, trying to regain her composure; there was still so much she needed to know, "have they let you in on any plans yet?"  
  
"Only that they're planning a prison break."  
  
Viviane frowned, "but we already know that..."  
  
"I think they are still playing it safe, I may not be able to get them to trust me for a long time yet."  
  
Viviane sighed as she gently massaged her temples with her finger tips, "this mission is not starting out as well as I had hoped, and we're not getting the Ministry support that we should."  
  
"Viviane, the lack of success on this mission may be my fault. I mean, I'm not very qualified, I've only had limited mission experience before. I may not be cut out for something of this magnitude." Stefan was very concerned with the way things were going.  
  
Viviane brushed that off, "Experience wouldn't be that much help to you in this Stefan. Besides, the enemy contacted you; we can't just throw in someone and tell them to spy. We need someone who they have an interest in, and they obviously have in interest in you."  
  
"Viviane, I promise, I'll do whatever I can to keep your family safe. I don't think I could live with myself if something happened to them while I'm on this mission."  
  
"Thank you Stefan, I know that you truly mean that. It means a lot to me."  
  
The thought of family changed the direction of Stefan's thoughts, "Have you and Colin set a date for the wedding yet?"  
  
A small smile played at Viviane's lips, "yes, December 26, its one of my few days off."  
  
"I wish I could be there for you, however I don't get any days off till this case is settled."  
  
"Don't lie to me Stefan MacNeill, you don't want to be there for me, you're more interested in a certain fiery red head." She winked at him.  
  
Stefan laughed, but it was a hollow sound, "You're right about that," his expression sobered, "I feel so lost without her."  
  
Viviane reached for his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, "I'm writing home tonight, you want me to say anything to Dierna for you? But remember, I can't write much and it will be read by several other ministry members for security reasons before it gets to her."  
  
"Tell her that I love her."  
  
Viviane smiled a real smile this time, "I'll do that. Anything else?"  
  
"I don't think there's anything else I should say, at least nothing else that I want ministry members to be reading."  
  
"Mind in the gutter Stefan?" Viviane asked playfully.  
  
"Partly, and it's also that I just don't think you could fit all the love I feel for Dierna on paper. I just want to hold her, and I know that I may never get to again," he sighed deeply.  
  
"Have faith Stefan. And, I know this is going to hurt, but you can't dwell on thoughts of my little sister, push her to the back of your mind for now. You have to concentrate on the job at hand; otherwise you may not go back to her."  
  
Stefan slowly shook his head, "I'm sorry Viviane, I'm here wallowing in self pity even though I am far from being the only one in danger here. And you're right, I do need to concentrate more, one false step and this whole thing could fall apart on us." 


	17. Chapter 17

Walden Macnair approached Draco Malfoy in the dark sitting room, "what do you think of our new _recruit_?"  
  
Draco grinned menacingly, "Yes, it was very nice of the Ministry to send him to us. I have a feeling young Mr. MacNeill will prove to be worth his weight in gold. He'll distract the Ministry from our true objectives while honestly believing that he is helping them."  
  
"Your plan is brilliant sir, as always," Macnair made a gesture of reverence.  
  
"Stop groveling you fool! We have work to get done; I don't have time for your petty attempts at appeasing me. Now, where was I before you distracted my train of thought?"  
  
"We were discussing our plans concerning our break into Azkaban."  
  
"Ah yes... I want to throw off the Ministry a bit, tell MacNeill that we are going to stage that mission around Christmas. He will then report that back to his superiors and when we carry out our plan next month they will not be ready for us yet."  
  
"An excellent plan as always sir, I will see to it that MacNeill is misinformed."

* * *

Harry, Sirius, and Remus headed down towards the quidditch pitch. The Gryffindor team was holding its first practice of the season and they wanted to observe for awhile. Each of them was hoping that Gryffindor would carry off the house cup this year.  
  
"Have they found a new seeker yet?" Sirius asked as they entered the stadium.  
  
Remus nodded, "yes, they're using Nick's little sister, Bridget. Luckily the rest of the team hasn't changed, that's a definite advantage for them."  
  
They watched the practice in silence for awhile. William, Dierna, and Kamen were practicing some new moves, while Nick was discussing a new tactic with Serena and the other team beater, Lena Spencer.  
  
As the practice moved into full swing Harry smiled to himself, remembering the practices from his school days, "I don't think the Gryffindor team has ever had this many girls on it before."  
  
"You're right," Remus grinned, "but all of them are completely fearless up there."

Sirius laughed, "You're right about that Moony, I've never seen a team that's played so hard while still playing fair." His expression turned mischievous, I wonder what team our greasy friend roots for..."  
  
Remus laughed softly, "Just between us, Morgan has assured me that even though he appears to be cheering for Slytherin he really wants Gryffindor to win."  
  
The other men laughed at that observation, but realized that when it came to house loyalties versus children, children would always come first.  
  
So, what are you predictions for the season Moony?" Sirius turned to his closest friend.  
  
"Well, as long as the quidditch season doesn't get canceled, my money is on Gryffindor."

* * *

Dierna gently caressed the letter in her hand and a small smile played at her lips. It was Saturday and between homework and procrastinating she had used every opportunity to read the precious letter. It was from Viviane, and it contained a very brief message from Stefan, that he loved her. It felt so good to be loved! Nothing else mattered, well, almost nothing.  
  
She sighed as she and Nick reached her father's office to serve their detentions. Nick playfully pulled on one of her curls, "first weekend back and we already have detention, looks real good for the rest of the year doesn't it?"  
  
"Stop it!" She ducked as he reached to tug on another curl, "you're such a brat sometimes Nick," she stuck her tongue out at him and then grinned when her rolled his eyes at her. If she was going to spend her evening in detention there was no one she'd rather be with than Nick. At least he could keep her entertained. Not that that was going to help her current mood very much.  
  
Dierna sighed as she slid her hand into Nick's.  
  
"What is it doll?" Nick gave her hand a quick squeeze as he leaned down slightly to look at her face.  
  
"I was just missing Stefan. Last year he would always walk me to and from detention. It was silly really, but it always made me feel better."  
  
Nick opened his mouth to respond to that, but was cut off when Severus opened the door to his office and motioned Dierna and Nick inside.  
  
Severus crossed his arms over his chest and looked down darkly at the two teens in front of him, 'I would like to stress the seriousness of your attempt at amusing yourselves in my class yesterday. You could have seriously injured yourselves or others near you. Your actions were incredibly juvenile and hazardous. I will not put up with that type of behavior in my classroom. Is that understood?"  
  
"It won't happen again sir," Nick managed to look somewhat ashamed of himself.  
  
"Mr. Wood, my classroom is in need of some attention. I want it spotless before you leave tonight." Severus indicated an assortment of cleaning supplies, all non-magic, "Adelaide, you will clean my office."  
  
"But I just helped you clean it last week! It doesn't need..." Dierna trailed off. She knew the look she was getting very well and it was not one to be messed with.  
  
Severus glared down at his daughter, "if you are done with your little outburst you can get to work. You are not leaving tonight until it is done to my satisfaction."  
  
Dierna shot Nick a look that conveyed all of her disgust and annoyance with the situation before she started working. Nick headed through the connection door into the potions classroom to get started on his part of the cleaning assignment. The sooner he got started the sooner he could get out of there.  
  
Dierna worked slowly, still brooding over the unfairness of the whole situation. While she was scrubbing down the shelves that lined the walls she noticed that her father was very involved in a project set up on a table next to his desk. Intrigued, she moved closer to the table he was working at and watched silently.  
  
Dierna quickly took in the supplies and ingredients her father was using and recognized them as components of the Wolfsbane potion. She thought quickly and it only took her a few seconds to realize that tomorrow would be a full moon. She took a couple of steps forward to observe more closely; since her father's back was to her he hadn't noticed that she had stopped working.  
  
She was fascinated. She thought that the intricate and immaculately detailed process was beautiful. Not aware of how many minutes were passing she stood there for a long time. She jumped slightly when her father turned around to take another jar off the shelf next to her.  
  
"Get back to work Dierna, I don't want to wait up all night for you to finish this," there was no longer any trace of coldness in his voice.  
  
Dierna hesitated a moment, there were a million questions swimming through her head and she was trying to figured out if her father was in a good enough mood to answer any of them, "Dad, can I ask you a question?"  
  
"You just did."  
  
Dierna smiled slightly, "Can I ask you several questions?"  
  
"As long as you keep them short and they don't distract you from the work that you are supposed to be doing."  
  
"Could I make the Wolfsbane potion?" She went back to cleaning off the many shelves.  
  
"No."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"It is far too complicated for you."  
  
She tried a slightly different angle, not wanting to give up completely, "what if you helped me, could I do it then?"  
  
"No."  
  
"But why..."  
  
"Dierna, it would still be too complicated for you. And even if it was not, many of the ingredients are expensive and very rare or very dangerous, I would not let you handle them. Besides, you have not demonstrated to me the dedication and responsibility that are required to make such a complicated potion."  
  
Dierna frowned, "but..."  
  
"Dierna, I need to concentrate on this. We will continue this discussion later," although Severus raised his voice slightly there was no anger in it.  
  
He worked in silence for nearly another hour before finishing the potion. He quickly cleaned up and after giving Dierna and Nick strict instructions to continue working he took the bottled Wolfsbane potion and went in search of Remus.  
  
Severus made his way out of the dungeons and up to Remus' office, which was located close to the Gryffindor tower. Severus knocked on the door of the office, hoping that the other man would be there. He had a great deal that he wished to discuss with him and Severus was visibly relieved when Remus opened the door.  
  
"Severus, thank you for bringing this to me, I was just about to come down and get it."  
  
"Make sure you heat it up properly tomorrow night Lupin. And as for my coming up here, have you heard anything else as to the identification of the death eaters that were in the forest? I know you were present when the officials the Ministry sent met with Minerva this evening."  
  
Remus shook his head, "Minerva tried to get any information out of them that she could, but the Ministry just isn't telling us anything."  
  
"Damn those incompetent fools!" Severus clutched his hand into a tight fist, which he slammed into the wall, "I want to know who is responsible for attacking my daughters."  
  
I'm sorry Severus; I know that Arthur Weasley is doing everything in his power to help with this investigation, however..."  
  
"However, whoever is responsible for attacking my girls has most likely infiltrated the Ministry at various levels. Remus, you're lucky that you don't have children; they add an incredible amount of worry to you life. They are more than worth it, but the level of stress they cause is incredible."  
  
Remus didn't respond as the potions master left the room, he didn't know how to comment on something like that.

* * *

As soon as her father was out the door and down the hallway Dierna rushed to the doorway connection her father's office and his classroom, "How's it going in here?"  
  
Nick smiled at her as he made his way across the room, "pretty good. I'm almost done, you?"  
  
Dierna groaned, "It's going to be a very long night."  
  
Nick grinned, "Poor girl," he put an arm around her shoulders as they sat down on the floor next to each other. He decided to change the subject to something that had been bothering him all week, "Has Connor given you any trouble lately?"  
  
"No, you're an excellent deterrent. As long as you're around he doesn't bother me too much."  
  
"I'm glad that I'm so intimidating," Nick once again flashed the grin that made most of the girls at school melt. "I promised Stefan that I wouldn't let any other male student so much as look at you the wrong way and I intend to stick to that promise."  
  
"You're so sweet to me Nick, sometimes..." Dierna grinned mischievously up at him, "now all we need to do is find you a girlfriend."  
  
"There's a slight problem with that."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Every girl that shows interest in me, and I know there are a lot, I compare to you and Serena. And trust me; they all fall incredibly short of my expectations."  
  
"Are you trying to make a pass at me Nicholas Wood?" Dierna fluttered her eyelashes at him and faked a swoon, falling into his lap.  
  
Nick threw back his head and laughed, "Not hardly! I just want someone who has the same passion that you do, but they have to be much sweeter. Honestly Dierna, I don't know why Stefan puts up with you; you're hard on a man."  
  
Dierna jabbed her elbow into his stomach and made a face at him as she sat back up.  
  
"See, that's exactly what I'm talking about," Nick gingerly rubbed his stomach where she had hit him, "that'll probably leave a horrible bruise you little twerp."  
  
Dierna responded by narrowing her eyes at him, "It's your own fault if you bruise easily. I can't always be careful of your delicate condition."  
  
Nick brought his face down very close to Dierna's, "you're in a lot of trouble now, I don't take insults like that very lightly."  
  
"Bring it on; I can take you any day, no problem."  
  
They continued their light banter for some time, their work forgotten, until someone above them cleared their throat causing them to look up guiltily.  
  
"The two of you are down here to be punished, not to socialize. Back to work, now." Severus offered his hand to Dierna to help her up from her position on the floor as Nick scrambled to his feet.  
  
With a hand on her back Severus followed Dierna back into his office. After pouring himself a glass of brandy he settled into his desk chair and started paging through a stack of papers that were waiting to be graded.  
  
"Dad?"  
  
"Hmmm..." Severus sipped his drink, not looking up.  
  
"About our conversation earlier, why exactly won't you let me help with the Wolfsbane potion? Is it because I really can't do it or because you don't want me to?"  
  
Severus leaned back in his chair, quickly forgetting about grading papers, "Dierna, in all honesty you are the most talented student I have. However, you are still far from capable from working on a potion that complicated. I like that you show such a strong interest in it, but you do not possess the skills that are needed."  
  
"Oh..."  
  
Severus saw the disappointed look on his daughter's face and tried to think of something to say that would make her feel better.  
  
Nick looked into the office, "I'm done Professor."  
  
Severus got up from his chair to inspect the classroom. Satisfied with what he saw he let Nick go before heading back into his office where Dierna was still far from being finished. He resumed his seat at his desk after pouring himself another drink; it looked like he was in for a long night.  
  
Dierna kept working, but looked up when she noticed that her father had been intently watching her. She tipped her head to one side, a questioning look on her face, "Why are you watching me like that?"  
  
"I was just trying to figure something out."  
  
"What?"  
  
Severus leaned forward in his chair and set his drink down with a dull thud, "Do you find my class boring?"  
  
Dierna shrugged, "a little."  
  
"Why is it boring to you?"  
  
"I don't know, I guess because it's easy."  
  
Severus frowned, "you think that it is easy and yet you don't apply yourself to the work. I think that if you focused more in class and asked more questions you might be able to challenge yourself a bit more."  
  
Dierna frowned down at the jar she was polishing, "I don't like asking questions during class," her voice was barely above a whisper.  
  
"I've noticed. But, is that just in my class or in all of you classes?"  
  
She sighed and suddenly became very interested in looking at the floor, "just yours."  
  
Severus leaned back with a sigh, reaching for his glass again, "Dierna, you have far too much potential to let me stand in your way. I know that you dislike having me for a teacher, you have made that more than clear to me on many occasions."  
  
Dierna opened her mouth to defend herself, but her father held up a hand to silence her, "let me finish. I understand why you might not like to ask questions during my class, but I wish you would come to me out of class if it bothers you so much."  
  
"Dad, it's just... complicated."  
  
Severus let the silence hang in the air for a long time. He waited until Dierna had the room nearly finished, "I have another project that I'm working on. It is not clear yet if it will be as complicated as the Wolfsbane project, but probably much more important. If you would like to help me with it on the weekends or evenings I would consider giving you extra credit or house points for it, plus, I think that it would be excellent experience for you."  
  
"Really?"  
  
Severus nodded, "you'll have to understand that my orders will have to be followed explicitly. This is not something that can be taken lightly."  
  
Dierna smiled, "I think I can handle that." She brushed he hair out of her eyes as she stood up, "I think I'm finished, can I go now?"  
  
The corner of Severus' mouth twitched in amusement as he surveyed his daughter. She had dirt streaked across one cheek and she looked absolutely exhausted. "Not quite yet, come here." He got up and led Dierna to the sink at the back of his office. He wet a cloth and moved to wipe the dirt off her face.  
  
"Daaaad!!!! Don't do that!" Dierna tried to duck to avoid him.  
  
"Hold still," he allowed himself to smile slightly as he caught her chin in his hand and held her head up while he washed the dirt from her face.  
  
"Why do you insist on treating me like I'm still five?" Dierna frowned up at him.  
  
"Because, you act like you're still five, besides, it's my privilege as your father."  
  
Dierna snorted in disgust at that answer.  
  
"Very lady like," Severus comment dryly, "come on, I'll walk you up to your common room.  
  
"I'm perfectly capable of walking up there by myself."  
  
Severus smiled to himself as he led her out the door, "I'm aware of that, but it is well after curfew. I don't want you to get in trouble for being out so late by yourself. Besides, I'll feel better if I see that you get up there safely, consider it another one of my privileges as your father."  
  
Besides Dierna rolling her eyes at that and making a comment about parents who worry too much they walked in silence to the portrait of the fat lady that guarded the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. Severus wrapped an arm around his daughter, "You think that we could avoid having to do this again? As much as I enjoy spending time with you I would rather that it wasn't spent overseeing you in detention."  
  
Dierna hoped that the dim light in the hallway would cover the way that she was blushing over that mild reproof, "I'll try."  
  
"That's all I ask," He pulled her close and brushed a kiss to her forehead, "goodnight bright eyes."  
  
Dierna hugged him back tightly, at times she really hated him for being so overbearing and strict, but he always tried to make up for it, "g'night Dad." 


	18. Chapter 18

Severus sank into his favorite chair in the sitting room of his and Morgan's living quarters in Hogwarts and took off his shoes before leaning back and closing his eyes wearily. He smiled slightly when he heard Morgan come up behind him, "what do you want darling?"  
  
Morgan wrapped her arms around his neck from behind and leaned down to whisper in his ear, "I've come to work my feminine wiles on you."  
  
Severus laughed softly as he pulled her around the chair and down into his lap, "I cannot wait for you to start."  
  
Morgan place her hands on either side of her husband's face and kissed him deeply, they didn't separate for a long time. They finally broke apart and Severus wrapped his arms tightly around the small frame of his wife, "now what is it that you want?"  
  
Morgan smiled playfully and chewed on her lower lip for a moment before leaning in very close to whisper something in her husband's ear.  
  
Severus instantly tensed up and frowned, "does this have anything to do with us having another child?" His tone was harder than he intended it to be.  
  
"No!" Morgan replied instantly, and then took a deep breath before continuing, "No Sev, this isn't about that. I just want you." She laid her head on his shoulder.  
  
"I'm sorry I snapped at you like that. I know it's not much of an excuse, but it has been a very long day and I just wasn't expecting that."  
  
"I understand," Morgan kept her head on his shoulder but began to undo the top few buttons on her husband's shirt.  
  
"What do you think you are doing?"  
  
Morgan smiled up at her husband, not quite managing to look innocent, "nothing..."  
  
"Nothing?" Severus echoed her as he raised an eyebrow.  
  
Morgan rolled her eyes, "don't look at me like that Sev, it makes me feel like a child who's been caught doing something naughty when you look at me like that."  
  
Severus laughed as he softly caressed her face, "hmpf... that's a rather accurate assessment."  
  
"Whatever are you going to do with me?" Morgan reached up to kiss him again.  
  
Severus pulled away, "I think I'm going to take you up on your suggestion. You have once again completely won me over with your 'feminine wiles.'"  
  
Serena smiled when Mark reached for her hand; he always made her feel so good, so special.

* * *

"A knut for them?"  
  
"For what?" Serena shot a quizzical look at her boyfriend.  
  
"Your thoughts," he smiled down at her, "something is bothering you, what is it?" He gently squeezed her hand.  
  
Serena sighed, "It's nothing really. I was just wishing that we could see each other without sneaking around like this."  
  
"But we could. I've told you before; I'm willing to deal with the consequences of letting everyone know that we're a couple if you are."  
  
"But it's so complicated Mark. You know that my dad will watch us constantly if he finds out. He watches me enough as it and I don't want you to have to go through that."  
  
Mark kissed her gently, hoping that Serena would calm down. She had been irritated with everything recently, even him, "You're worth it. I would do anything for you hon."  
  
"Mark, do you really want him watching us constantly? We'll never have a moment of peace." She glanced up at him timidly, feeling very unsure about what the best course of action would be.  
  
"Are you afraid of him?"  
  
"What?" Serena's head shot up, she was completely taken aback by that question.  
  
"Are you afraid of him? It's a yes or no question Serena."  
  
"No, of course I'm not afraid of him. Why would I be?" Her brow furrowed in confusion, she frowned up at Mark.  
  
"Well, everyone else in the school is, and I can't think of any other reason for the two of us to keep our relationship a secret."  
  
"I just want you to myself for a little while Mark. I know how closely Dierna and Stefan were watched last year. They barely got any time alone. I like being with you without worrying about being watched."  
  
Mark gently cupped her face in his hands, "but we do have to worry about being caught. I'm starting to get tired of this charade. But, if it is what you want then I will continue to go along with it."  
  
"Thank you, that means the world to me." Serena kissed him softly, trying to hold back when she really wanted more.  
  
"You are aware of the fact that everyone is going to find out about us eventually, aren't you?"  
  
"Of course I am, but I want to put that off for as long as possible," she smiled as Mark's arms wrapped around her tightly. "Until then I would be perfectly happy to just be with you and be kissed."  
  
Mark was more than happy to oblige her.

* * *

It was Sunday afternoon, and Severus made his way down the long hallway that was bathed in the slanting light of the late summer afternoon as he headed towards the staff room. It was nearly time for the first teachers' meeting since the term had started.  
  
He entered the room, knowing that as early as he was no one else had probably arrived yet. So he was slightly surprised to see that Harry, Sirius and Remus were already there.  
  
Remus stood up, "Severus, how has your weekend been?"  
  
"Tolerable, and yours Lupin?"  
  
Remus sat back down as Severus joined them, "well, I guess interesting would be the best word. I was just trying to figure out where an interesting new rumor started. Apparently I murdered a student." Remus laughed as he shook his head, "I have no idea where they come up with this stuff."  
  
Severus surprised them all when he threw back his head and laughed loudly, "I know exactly where that one started Remus, you can thank my children for that one."  
  
"Sounds like you rather enjoy that rumor Severus," Sirius shot a sideways glance at his colleague.  
  
Severus' amused expression faded from his face, but his eyes still glowed with amusement, "If you are implying that I encouraged them with that piece of information you are incorrect. I actually grounded them a couple of weeks ago for trying to convince their cousin that it was true. However, it is rather amusing."  
  
Morgan entered the staff room and smiled at the way the four men before her were talking companionably, she remembered a time when they had not got along in the slightest. Although she realized that she was strongly biased in favor of her husband's side, it made her very happy to see them all as friends.  
  
She smiled sadly, with the way things were going it appeared that they would need all the friends they could find. It was so important to stick together during times of crisis. She only hoped that things wouldn't get too desperate.  
  
Her smile became warm when the four men noticed her presence and came to their feet. She was going to make every effort necessary to keep any unfounded doubts concealed. She didn't need anyone, particularly her husband, worrying about her over nothing.  
  
She flashed Severus her warmest smile as he gently settled her into a chair, he was always so considerate of her, always the perfect gentleman. She loved the attention that he lavished on her.  
  
"Morgan, your presence, as always, has managed to brighten up the room. However do you manage it?" Remus winked at her.  
  
Morgan grinned as she felt her husband grip her shoulders tightly. Remus was always trying to bait him by flirting with her. It worked every time. "You're too kind Remus; I don't deserve all the compliments you throw at me." She winked back at him.  
  
"On the contrary, you deserve every compliment that I can hand you. You are a truly magnificent woman," Remus picked up her hand and kissed it gently.  
  
"Lupin, if you touch my wife again you won't have any reason to worry about taking that Wolfsbane potion every again." The glare that Severus sent Remus' way was positively murderous.  
  
Remus held onto Morgan's hand, even when she tried to pull away, "now Severus, it's not very nice to threaten me like that. Especially since she's already agreed to run away with me."  
  
Morgan finally managed to retrieve her hand and she rolled her eyes at the pleading look Remus was giving her, "you're going to get me in trouble if you keep this up Remus." She put a restraining hand on Severus' arm as he took a seat next to her, "and Sev, don't let him get to you like that. If you would learn to control your temper he wouldn't try to aggravate you like that."  
  
"My temper has nothing to..."  
  
"Sirius, how is Elizabeth and how are the wedding plans coming along?" Morgan cut her husband off as she tried to change the direction of the conversation. It never failed to amaze her that the group of men surrounding her still had so much growing up to do.

* * *

Stefan swallowed hard, trying to fight the feeling of nausea that was quickly escalating. He stiffened when a heavy hand fell on his shoulder and he turned to face Walden Macnair. "What now?"  
  
"Kill him." Macnair gave the order in an offhand manner, a distinct lack of emotion in his voice.  
  
Stefan had a very hard time keeping the many protests that invaded his mind from becoming vocal. His mind reeled at the fact that someone could give an order like that so unfeelingly. "Does he have to die?"  
  
Macnair grinned at the younger man, "If I were you I would learn to follow orders without question, otherwise you're going to end up meeting a much worse fate than that filthy muggle. If they get in our way we take them out. It's very simple really."  
  
Stefan fought for any measure of self-control, he had to do something. But he could not kill the man. He looked down at the intended victim. The middle-aged man was bound and gagged, and his eyes held a look of sheer terror.  
  
Stefan searched his mind for something, anything that he could do to stall. He didn't think he would ever be able to face Dierna again if he killed someone so innocent and for no reason.  
  
As he gazed into the eyes of the prisoner he came to a fast conclusion. Hardening his heart and closing his eyes, Stefan did the only thing that would keep both of them alive, at least for the time being, "crucio."  
  
Stefan tried to block out the sound of the muffled screams as the muggle twitched in pain. He held the curse for what seemed like an eternity until Macnair came up beside him and motioned for him to stop.  
  
"Very commendable young MacNeill, not quite what I asked for, but still impressive. You'll find that killing will come easy to you after awhile. We'll just have to keep working at it."  
  
Stefan tried not to visibly flinch at the way Macnair made that announcement. This job was getting more terrifying by the minute.  
  
Macnair shrugged, "until then I guess I'll have to clean up after you, not that I particularly mind," he pointed his wand at the man who was still withering in pain on the floor. "It is so easy, and yet so satisfying."  
  
"What is?" Stefan glanced at Macnair as he tried to control the feel of dread that was growing in his stomach.  
  
Macnair merely flashed him a menacing smile before turning back to his victim, "Avada Kedavra."  
  
Everything else was a blur to Stefan. He barely registered the death of the innocent muggle in the flash of green light. Everything seemed to alternate between slow motion and dizzying speeds. He barely registered Macnair telling him that he could go.  
  
Stefan got out of the dark house quickly and apparated to a nearby section of forest. He had to get away. As soon as he was sure that he was far away from any of Malfoy and Macnair's henchmen he grabbed his portkey, which was charmed to activate at his touch, and was quickly transported back to the haven the Ministry had set up for this mission.  
  
Stefan stumbled and fell as the portkey stopped; all he could do was wish that the spinning sensation would stop. It wasn't helping the queasy feeling in his stomach.  
  
"How did things go?" Viviane held out her hand to help Stefan up off the floor.  
  
"Not good." Stefan instantly regretted standing up and rushed towards the bathroom.  
  
Viviane poured a glass of water and followed Stefan into the bathroom. She took in his pale features as he leaned against the sink, "I thought you might need this," she handed him the glass of water.  
  
"Thank you," Stefan replied weakly. He took a small sip of water, hoping that his stomach wouldn't rebel against it.  
  
"What happened tonight?" Viviane slowly led Stefan back into his room and watched him carefully as he sank into a chair.  
  
Stefan closed his eyes, trying to block out the memories as he buried his face in his hands. "It was so horrible..."  
  
Viviane knelt in front of him and placed her hands on his knees, "I know that you probably don't want to relive anything that just happened, but I need to know Stefan."  
  
"I had to perform one of the unforgivables," Stefan's voice was thick with emotion, but his eyes were empty.  
  
"I'm sorry it came to that, but I still need details for the report."  
  
"They asked me to kill a man; he was just an innocent muggle who happened to stumble upon some of Malfoy's men. He had no idea what was going on. They brought him in, tied and gagged, and told me to kill him."  
  
"What did you do?"  
  
"I couldn't do it Viviane. I just couldn't do it. To hell with this assignment and the Ministry, I'm not killing anyone. I would never be able to face your sister again if I did that."  
  
"Stefan, don't name the well from which you'll never drink."  
  
"What?"  
  
Viviane smiled sadly, "it's an old expression. Just don't say you will never kill anyone. Remember, this mission is more important than either you or me. Countless lives could depend on your actions. Now, what did you do?"  
  
Stefan sighed deeply as he tried to focus again, "I tortured him, with the crucio curse."  
  
Viviane took a deep breath, "And then..." she prompted him.  
  
"And then Macnair killed him. It was so mindless, so unemotional for him. I can't imagine ever killing like that; it meant nothing to him..." Stefan's voice held a note of wonder in it.  
  
"And that is why I have no qualms about you being with my little sister."  
  
"What?" Stefan looked up confusedly at Viviane as she stood up.  
  
"I'm glad you could never kill like that Stefan, your heart is in the right place. Just remember, you may be called upon to do some unimaginable things during this assignment  
  
"I know, I just hadn't realized that it would be so hard."  
  
"It's probably just going to get harder."  
  
Stefan examined his hands carefully, trying to understand that he may have to use them to kill. "Viviane, do you think I should tell Dierna what I've done? Do you think she can still love me knowing that I've tortured a man with an unforgivable curse? Do you think she'll ever be able to kiss me again if I have to kill?"  
  
"I can't answer those questions; you'll have to decide what you tell her when this is all over. And, although I can't answer for my sister, I believe that she will love you no matter what. You are everything to her Stefan. Please be careful, I can't imagine what it would do to her if she lost you."

* * *

William and Kamen made their way to the back of the Transfiguration classroom and took seats next to each other, barely making it on time. As soon as Sirius began his lecture at the front of the room the two boys began their own quiet conversation.  
  
"I need a challenge." Kamen scanned the room, hoping that something would present itself to him.  
  
"What kind of challenge are you looking for?" William leaned in; Kamen was a constant source of entertainment.  
  
"The female sort."  
  
"You always have girls hanging all over you; I don't see where they would present a challenge.  
  
"I had one particular girl in mind."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Celeste Markham."  
  
"Are you serious?" William looked at his best friend skeptically, "you have got to be kidding, there is no way you could get her."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
William shook his head, "she's the head girl you git and you're one of the most predominate trouble makers in school. She followers every rule and is one of the only girls to never show interest in you. You'll never be able to get her."  
  
"I have complete confidence in my abilities." Kamen leaned back in his chair as he contemplated ways to make the pretty blond Ravenclaw, who played the 'good girl' part to a tee, to fall for him.  
  
"How are you going to do it?" William didn't think Kamen would succeed, but it would be fun watching him try.  
  
"Well I thought I could go through her best friend, who just happens to be in our house."  
  
"Andromache Weasley?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"She's a sixth year, right?"  
  
"Yep, I thought maybe I could set her up with someone, and then she could return the favor by hooking me up with Celeste."  
  
William grinned, "That's too perfect."  
  
Kamen leaned forward slightly, "so Will, my closest and dearest friend, what are you doing tonight?"  
  
"Hey, don't even try it. I have no intention of getting set up with that red headed fury. Besides, all she ever does is homework, not my idea of the perfect person to hang out with. And, she's a prefect; you can't break all the rules if your girl is going to be breathing down your neck the whole time."  
  
"Alright, alright, point taken. I'll think of someone else."  
  
"Gentlemen, what is so interesting that you feel the need to discuss it during my class?" Sirius smiled good naturedly at his future step-son and Kamen.  
  
"Nothing Professor Black, just trying to keep things interesting." Kamen flashed his lopsided grin.  
  
"I'd appreciate it if you would pay attention, I would hate to have to take points away from Gryffindor," he laid a hand on William's shoulder which William instantly shrugged off. Sirius headed back up to the front of the classroom fighting the feelings of inadequacy which were threatening his peace of mind. He truly wanted William to like him, but the boy just didn't want anything to do with him.  
  
"I hate him." William made the statement very calmly as Sirius walked away.  
  
Kamen chose to ignore that comment, he wasn't sure how exactly to react to William's dislike of Sirius. "What about Nick?"  
  
"Nick?"  
  
"Yeah, Nick Wood. He's unattached; maybe we could hook him and Andromache up. And then he can do his fellow quidditch team member a favor by getting Andromache to set me up with Celeste."  
  
"That's bloody brilliant." William smiled broadly.  
  
"Of course it is, I thought of it. I'm going to make Celeste Markham mine, and she won't know what hit her." 


	19. Chapter 19

Harry stood at the window in his office, but the bright afternoon sunlight did nothing to improve his mood. The state of his marriage weighed heavy on his mind. He wanted to make things work, but he wasn't sure how to fix the mess that it was in.  
  
The thought of his children was what kept him going now. He couldn't bear the thought of breaking off his marriage when he considered the affect it might have on them. But he also had to wonder if it might be better for the children if they did split up. It couldn't be very good for them to see how strained things were between him and Ginny.  
  
He picked up Ralph the llama from where he was laying next to his desk. He smiled down at the stuffed animal in his hands. It represented the best part of his life. If only everything else could be that simple.  
  
"Is there something I should know?" Remus stood in the doorway grinning.  
  
Harry smiled back, "it's not mine, he's Lily's. She told me to keep him so that he could keep me company." He set the stuffed animal back down on his desk.  
  
"She's a very sweet little girl. You know you could go home on weekends and the occasional weeknight like Charlie does, you'd get to see her more often."  
  
Harry sighed, "I'm not sure if I'm wanted at home."  
  
Remus put a hand on the younger man's shoulder, "I'm probably not the best person to give you advice since I'm not married, but keep trying. Even if you do seperate you still need to try."  
  
"Thanks Remus," Harry knew that he was trying to help, even though it didn't help much.  
  
"I know you may not want any more advice, and I don't know how much help it might be, but if you need to talk to someone I would suggest Severus. He's made it through a few rough spots in his marriage, and yet I've never seen a man who is more in love with his wife than he is."  
  
"I can't imagine that he would be of any help."  
  
Remus chose his next words carefully; he knew a few things about the Snapes' marriage that they didn't want widely known. "You'd be surprised Harry. There were a lot of us who doubted they would make it those first few years. They've been through a lot together, and not all of it has been pleasant."  
  
"Like what?" Harry didn't really want to pry, but if it would help save his own marriage he was ready to try anything.  
  
Remus shook his head, "I'm not the one who should tell you. You'll have to ask Severus or Morgan about it sometime."  
  
Harry found himself wondering if Remus knew what he was talking about. From what he could see the Snapes' marriage was close to perfect.

* * *

Meg felt like she was ready to give up for the night. She needed to feed Alan, but the rest of her children were simply refusing to go to bed. The stress of caring for all of them by herself left her close to tears some days.  
  
It had been a major disappointment for her when Charlie hadn't come home that weekend. She had known he probably wouldn't be able to make it back for the first weekend of the term. But now it was Monday night and the start of the week left her feeling rather desperate for her husband.  
  
She finally managed to wrestle the twins into their pajamas and tried reasoning with her two older girls again, who kept insisting that they wanted to stay up and play just a little bit longer. "Kassandra, Diana I want you in bed now. I'll be in to tuck you in as soon as I get Bran and Branwen in bed."  
  
She listened to the protests and sighed wearily, they usually didn't put up this much of a fight. "No dearest, don't do that," Meg picked up Branwen and gently removed her daughter's thumb from her mouth. She and Charlie were still trying to curb their youngest daughter's habit of sucking her thumb. Now she only did it when she was tired or upset.  
  
The twins had finally drifted off and Meg finished tucking them in before heading back to Kassandra and Diana's room to get them into bed, hoping that they wouldn't fight her too much, she was exhausted. She surveyed the toys that were scattered all over their bedroom and made a mental note that they weren't doing anything tomorrow until that mess was cleaned up.  
  
"Alright both of you, into bed now or there won't be any story tonight."  
  
Meg could have cried with relief when Charlie entered the room to the delighted squeals of his daughters.  
  
"He quickly embraced Meg and kissed her softly, "go check on Alan, I'll take care of these two," the love he felt for his wife showed clearly in his eyes.  
  
Meg headed to the nursery and gently picked up Alan. She smiled down at her infant son, when he opened his large blue eyes and blinked sleepily up at her. "Hello darling, are you hungry?"  
  
Meg laughed softly when her red headed little boy, who was just a month old, merely scrunched up his little face. She sat down in the rocking chair with him so that he could nurse. Meg closed her eyes and rocked slowly, it felt so good to just sit after having spent her day running after children.  
  
She had nearly drifted off when Charlie came in. He gently took little Alan, who had fallen asleep, and placed him back in his crib. "I think its time I got you to bed Mrs. Weasley, you look like you're completely done in."  
  
Meg started to protest when Charlie bent to pick her up but he silenced her protests, "no complaining, this is the least I can do for you after the day you've had."  
  
Meg relaxed and let her head fall against her husband's chest as he effortlessly carried her down the hallway to their bedroom. She let her eyes fall shut; she could hear Charlie's heart beating because of the way her head lay against his chest. It was such a comforting sound.  
  
Charlie gently moved to set his wife on their bed and laughed softly when she refused to let go of him. "Are you going to let me set you down?" There was a smile in his voice.  
  
"No... I like being held too much," Meg replied.  
  
Charlie sat down on the bed so that he could continue holding her, "how was your day?"  
  
"Long."  
  
"Did the kids give you trouble?"  
  
"Not until it was time to get them in bed. Ginny and Lily were over today and I think the girls were still a bit wound up."  
  
Charlie shifted his wife slightly so that he could hold her closer, "How is my little sister doing? I haven't had a chance to see her in awhile."  
  
Meg sighed, "She's depressed. She's still worried about her marriage."  
  
Charlie kissed the top of Meg's head, "I'll go see her the next chance I get."  
  
A sudden thought occurred to Meg, "Why are you home?"  
  
Charlie laughed at his wife's change of subject, "Are you saying you don't want me here?"  
  
Meg playfully jabbed him in the ribs, "of course I want you here, have I ever given you reason to doubt that?" She pouted slightly.  
  
Charlie dipped his head and kissed her in response. "I felt bad about not being home over the weekend, so I thought I would surprise you."  
  
"I like surprises like this."  
  
"Then I'll have to surprise you like this more often."  
  
"I'd like that," Meg smiled as she buried her face in her husband's chest. As his heartbeat came to her ears again she felt herself relax. She fell asleep cradled in his arms within minutes.

* * *

Nimue sat up with a start, breathing heavily. She closed her eyes against the darkness of the room as she tried to block the images of her dream from her mind. It had been so vivid, so real. She tried to think about what she should do.  
  
She knew that she had told Dierna she would tell her parents if she had another vision, but was that what the dream had been? Nimue clutched a pillow to her chest as she rocked herself back and forth slightly. It had seemed so real, but maybe it had only been a nightmare.  
  
She shuddered as she remembered the dream. The same figures in dark cloaks that had haunted other dreams had been there. They had talked of a prison break and they had mentioned one particular name. Voldemort. Nimue tried to think logically, no one would really want to break him out of Azkaban. He had been administered the dementor's kiss. He couldn't be used to cause any further harm.  
  
She shivered in the darkness. Usually she found the dark to be peaceful, but tonight it seemed to press in on her, it was foreboding. Nimue wrapped a blanket around herself and headed down to the common room. She sat on a sofa in front of the fireplace and gazed into the dancing flames, praying that no more nightmares or visions would haunt her. She fell asleep sitting there just before the sun rose.

* * *

Nick, Dierna, and Serena walked out the main doors of the school towards a shaded area that contained a number of temporary animal pens. They were having their Care of Magical Creatures class outside today, which had Dierna convinced that whatever they were working with would be big and most likely dangerous.  
  
"Why do we have to work with things that move? Couldn't we just use books instead?" Dierna whined as they approached the fenced in area.  
  
"Now where would the fun in that be?" Nick joked as he playfully pushed Dierna, "Besides, I've heard stories from my dad about his school days, according to him Professor Weasley's animals are tame compared to what Hagrid brought when he taught this class."  
  
"Come on Dierna, they're not that bad, some of them are actually kinda cute." Serena egged her sister on.  
  
"Cute!" Dierna snorted indignantly, "I damn near got my hand bit off last year. This is only the second week of classes and I bet anything whatever it is we're going to be studying is going to try to eat me, just like last year."  
  
"It's only because you taste good," Serena replied sweetly.  
  
"Are you sure, she doesn't act sweet so I can't imagine that she'd taste good, but maybe we should ask Stefan, he'd know about that." Nick quickly stepped back as Dierna swung at him.  
  
"That's not funny Nick," Dierna narrowed her eyes.  
  
"Of course it is, plus it's true. So, how does Stefan think you taste?" Nick grinned wickedly.  
  
Dierna rushed at Nick trying to tackle him to the ground, but he was too quick and bigger than her. Nick held Dierna off then swept her off the ground and threw her over his shoulder. He carried her that way to where the rest of their class was congregating despite her loud protests.  
  
Nick held Dierna behind her knees to keep her from falling as she tried to struggle out of his grasp. "Are you going to behave or do I need to keep you like this?" He asked with laughter in his voice.  
  
"Put me down right now Nick!"  
  
"What's the magic word?"  
  
"I'm going to kill you if you don't put me down now!"  
  
"Not quite what I was looking for, but that will work." Nick bent down and put Dierna back on her feet.  
  
Dierna glared at him, "don't do that again," she spoke through clenched teeth.  
  
"Or what, you'll try to tackle me again? We both know how well that worked, but that's nothing compared to what I'm going to do to you if you try something like that again." Nick tried very hard to put on a stern look without laughing.  
  
Serena laughed at her sister's affronted look, "he looks serious Dierna, you may not want to try that again."  
  
"I can take him," Dierna looked like a cat ready to pounce.  
  
"Really? Then why don't you try?" Nick spread his arms, inviting Dierna to take her best shot. But she didn't get a chance as Professor Weasley chose that moment to start the class.  
  
Charlie grinned at the assembled students; the class consisted of a combination of Slytherin and Gryffindor sixth years. So far it had proved to be his most entertaining class, due mainly to the Snape twins and Nick Wood. As long as they didn't disrupt the class Charlie was more than happy to let any small pranks slip, the trio reminded him a lot of his own twin brothers.  
  
Charlie was excited for today's class; he had finally gotten permission from the Ministry and the school to bring in an animal that truly excited him. "Alright class, for the next three weeks we're going to be working with baby Egyptian sand dragons. They are still fairly harmless but you still need to use precaution and common sense when handling them." He continued with a basic lecture on their eating and behavior habits before instructing the students to break up into groups and for each group to take one dragon.  
  
Nick, Dierna, and Serena worked together as the always did. As they approached their assigned pen Dierna eyed the dragon warily, "I don't care what he said about them being harmless that thing looks pretty vicious to me." She took an involuntary step backwards as the baby dragon shuffled up to the side of its pen, rubbing up against the bars.  
  
"Awww... it's so cute!" Serena exclaimed as they entered its pen. She bent down to pet the baby dragon, which was about the size of a kitten. She grinned when the little dragon rolled onto its back so that she could rub its soft stomach.  
  
"Adorable," Dierna muttered with ill concealed distaste.  
  
"Now that's no way to talk about our baby, be nice Dierna. What should we name him?" Serena sat on the ground and picked up the baby dragon, setting him in her lap. She gently ran her hand over his scales, which were in shades of brown and pink and gold to blend in with the Egyptian sands.  
  
"We do not need to name him, things like that do not deserve names," Dierna stood at the opposite end of the pen.  
  
"Come on Dierna, he's not that bad, besides you like working with dragon products in potions class, consider this background information." Nick tried to get her to come over to where the dragon was contentedly laying in Serena's lap.  
  
Dierna snorted, "I like pieces of dragons, not the whole thing."  
  
"Come on," Serena coaxed, "he's really very sweet." She petted the dragon's head when he rubbed up against her hand.  
  
"I think he should have an Egyptian name since he's an Egyptian sand dragon," Nick said as he took Dierna by the hand and dragged her over to where Serena was sitting. He pulled her down to the ground so that the three of them were sitting in a close triangle.  
  
"How about Seth, he looks pretty evil." Dierna commented dryly.  
  
"That's still not being nice," Serena rolled her eyes at her sister, "How about... Ptah? I think he looks like a Ptah."  
  
"I like it. Come on Dierna, why don't you pet him," Nick poked her in the side.  
  
"Fine," Dierna sighed and reached out to pet the little dragon who closed his eyes when she gently scratched his head before quickly turning and snapping at her fingers. "I told you he was evil!" Dierna glared at her sister and Nick who was trying not to laugh, "every time, some damn animal tries to take my hand off. I'm not touching him again."  
  
"You're upsetting him!" Serena glared back at her sister before turning her attention back to little Ptah. She rubbed him under his chin as he settled back down in her lap.  
  
"Sure, take the dragon's side, because he is so innocent," Dierna replied sarcastically.  
  
Nick laughed at the hurt expression on Dierna's face, "He's a lot more innocent than you are."  
  
"How are things going over here?" Charlie approached the group. Although he knew that the baby sand dragons were a very tame species, he still needed to keep a very close eye on his students while they were handling the animals.  
  
"Fine," Serena stood up as she handed the dragon to Nick, "Dierna doesn't like him very much though."  
  
"Having problems again Miss Snape? I thought we cleared this up last year." Charlie turned towards Dierna.  
  
"Professor, its no my fault if every animal we study tries to bite me, I don't do anything to them." Dierna eyed the dragon warily as it curled up in Nick's lap.  
  
"They can sense any fear or hesitation, if you try to get past that I'm sure you would have a much better experience in this class," Charlie smiled down kindly at her.  
  
"How big will this guy get?" Nick asked as Ptah flopped over onto his back so that Nick could rub his stomach.  
  
Nick and Professor Weasley got into a detailed discussion involving the habits and characteristics of that particular species of dragon that lasted for almost the rest of the class. By the time class finally ended Dierna was more than ready to leave.  
  
She watched as Nick and Serena reluctantly left the little dragon behind, she couldn't understand their fascination with a creature like that. She much preferred the feeling of excitement that brewing potions produced for her. It was much more satisfactory than any animal.  
  
Nick walked between Serena and Dierna as they headed back inside and wrapped an arm around both girls' waists. "We have practice tonight, you girls feel ready?"  
  
"We're always ready to practice Nick," Serena smiled at him.  
  
"Of course we are, especially since we're going to bring Slytherin down this year. I will not stand for a repeat of what happened last year." Dierna tried to repress the memory of their horrible defeat in the final game of the quidditch season the previous year.  
  
"Good, 'cause I have every intention of working you hard this season, I want that quidditch cup this year," Nick stated determinedly, his competitive nature coming out.  
  
"We won't let you down this year Nick; I know we're going to win." Serena spoke confidently. 


	20. Chapter 20

Morgan looked up from the papers on her desk when there was a knock on her office door. She rose slowly, and stretched, before heading towards the door. She opened the door expecting to find a student, but was pleasantly surprised at who her visitor was.  
  
"Colin, what are you doing here?" She smiled at her future son-in- law.  
  
"Would you believe me if I said I was just feeling a little lonely and needed to see a friendly face?"  
  
Morgan laughed, "not quite, but it's a good start. Come in Colin, can I get you anything?"  
  
"No thank you, Mrs. Snape, I'm fine," he smiled as he took a seat in a soft chair. Morgan's office was beautiful, it was hung with bright colored tapestries and the multiple windows were open letting a soft breeze in.  
  
"Colin, you can call me Morgan," she smiled warmly at him as she took the seat across from him, "now, why are you really here."  
  
Colin groaned as he leaned back in his chair, "because I'm in way over my head. Viviane said she wrote you that we set the wedding date for December 26," he watched as Morgan nodded an affirmative, "well, she won't be able to get off of work till a couple of days before that so I have been put in charge of the wedding plans. I need help."  
  
Morgan smiled, "I can't believe she left you to plan all of it on your own."  
  
"Oh, she didn't just leave me to plan it all alone, it was a command."  
  
Morgan laughed, "Yes that does sound like my daughter." She the tears of mirth from her eyes, "I would be more than happy to help you with the planning Colin. And Sev and I would be more than happy to cover the expenses."  
  
"Mrs. Snape, I mean Morgan, I can't ask you to do that." Colin leaned forward slightly.  
  
"You're not asking, we're offering."  
  
"Thank you, that means a lot to me and I'm sure it'll mean a lot to Viviane."  
  
"You're very welcome Colin; it's the least we can do. Now, tell me, what did you have in mind for the wedding?"  
  
"Nothing big, neither of us wants a big ceremony or reception."  
  
"Well that's easy enough; do you have a guest list yet?"  
  
"I need to plan a guest list?"  
  
Morgan laughed at the shocked look on the younger man's face, "I think this is why women usually plan these things. Yes, you need a guest list so you can send out the invitations."  
  
"Ohhhh... well, I think we just wanted family and close friends, I guess I'll have to check that with Viviane."  
  
"Alright, you check on that with her. Now, where did you want to hold the ceremony, and decorations, we need to figure out decorations."  
  
Colin paled slightly, "I didn't realized there would be so much to plan for..." he pulled out a sheet of paper, "all Viviane told me was that she wanted to get married at home."  
  
Morgan nodded, "she had mentioned that to me too, that's fine. I think I'll take care of the decorations on my own that way you don't have to worry about them."  
  
"I don't want you to end up doing all of the work Morgan; I just need to be steered in the right direction."  
  
Morgan brushed that off, "It's not a problem, you just need to let me know if I try to take over too much."  
  
"I'll do that, but I don't think you can take over too much. I'm more than willing to admit that I'm completely out of my element on this one." Colin paused a minute, he didn't want to hurt any feelings with the next part of the plans, "we want a very simple ceremony, and we both agreed that we didn't want to bother with bridesmaids or ushers or anything of that sort. Will your other girls be upset if they don't get to be in the ceremony? I didn't know if there was any concern about them being bridesmaids or something since..."  
  
"Don't concern yourself about that Colin; I'm sure they won't mind in the slightest. I understand your wish to keep the ceremony as simple as possible."  
  
Colin sighed with relief; he didn't want to cause any problems.  
  
The two of them continued to discuss wedding plans for the next hour, and much to Colin's relief it went much smoother than he was expecting. They had come up with a tentative guest list that Colin would verify with Viviane and they planned the invitations.  
  
"Only a few more months and she'll be mine, Mrs. Viviane McIan. I can't wait," Colin smiled as he looked over the notes he had made during the planning.  
  
"I'm very happy for both of you. You will be a wonderful husband to my daughter Colin."  
  
"I hope so; I will certainly do my best."  
  
"I know you will, and I know that the two of you will be very happy," Morgan wiped away a tear.  
  
"Are you alright?" Colin came to his feet, concern written on his face.  
  
Morgan smiled shakily, "I'm fine, just ignore me. I was just thinking about my little girl getting married."  
  
"Oh..." Colin sat back down, feeling only slightly relieved.  
  
Morgan laughed at the look on Colin's face, "you're going to have to get used to female emotions Colin, we do this a lot."  
  
Colin smiled and gave a dramatic shudder, "I've already been witness to some of that."  
  
"Oh don't worry, it gets about a hundred times worse when we're pregnant," Morgan winked at him.  
  
Colin stared at her blankly for a minute before shaking his head, "I hadn't thought of that. I think I'm getting myself into far more than I bargained for, but with Viviane it will be well worth it."

* * *

Harry smiled down at the letter that a large barn owl had just delivered. He untied the bright pink ribbon that was wrapped around it and felt his heart warm at the simple message.  
  
_ I love you  
_  
He would never get tired of seeing or hearing those three simple words, it was exactly what he needed right now.  
  
He looked at the simple crayon picture with Lily's uneven block letters spelling out his favorite phrase. His little girl was so sweet.  
  
He sighed as he set the picture aside and reached for the stack of requests that had been made for the quidditch pitch so that he could allot practice times to the various house teams.  
  
He looked up when there was a soft knock on his door, "come in." His smiled widely when Ophelia poked her head around the door. He stood up and met his daughter in the middle of the room where he pulled her close to him for a hug. "How is my girl doing today?"  
  
Ophelia sighed, "not good," she pouted slightly.  
  
"Why don't you tell me about it," Harry spoke soothingly as he led Ophelia to the couch. "Would you like some tea?"  
  
"Yes please," she answered softly.  
  
Harry fixed her a cup of tea which he pressed into her small hands before sitting down next to her, "Now, what's wrong."  
  
"It's just been a bad day," she leaned against her father as he slid an arm around her slight shoulders.  
  
"Anything in particular?"  
  
"Not really, I didn't do as good on my potions essay as I had hoped, and me and Nimue kinda had a fight this morning."  
  
"Well I'm here for you sweetheart, no matter what," Harry desperately hoped that he could live up to that, no matter what happened to his marriage or with these new attacks, he wanted to be there for his children.

* * *

Nimue washed her face, trying to block out the visions that kept clouding her mind. Part of her cried out to tell someone, anyone, what was happening, but another part of her desperately wanted to keep it all secret. Whatever was happening couldn't be good.  
  
She looked at her face in the mirror, half expecting it to give way to another vision, but only her own reflection stared back at her. She took a shaky breath. She had to stay calm; she couldn't let every little thing scare her like this. She had to stay in control. Unless the visions were controlling her. Were they?  
  
She shuddered at that thought. What if they were controlling her? What if she slipped into a vision and she couldn't pull herself back out? Could that happen? Her breathing became ragged as she leaned over the sink, gasping for air.  
  
As she raised her eyes to the mirror again she met her own violet eyes in the mirror, and then felt a sinking feeling of dread as the colors of the mirror began to swirl. "No..." she gasped out shakily as she pushed herself away.  
  
She took several unsteady steps backwards as she continued to look at the mirror, "no," she shook her head, but couldn't tear her eyes away from the mirror. The same dark cloaked figures were there, it was always the same figures, she debated fleeing when their voices came to her.  
  
_"We will take him and then the killing can begin in earnest, we won't stop at mere muggles. Complete control will be ours."  
_  
"No!" Nimue squeezed her eyes shut and clapped her hands over her ears as she sank to the floor, "nooo... she rocked herself back and forth, trying to block it all out. This wasn't happening, it couldn't be happening. Part of her reasoned that if she kept telling herself that it might be true.  
  
But part of her knew the truth. The visions would keep coming, and it would only be a matter of time before they had complete control over her. She felt as though she had lost a battle without ever knowing she had gone to war.

* * *

"Does young MacNeill suspect anything?" Draco tapped his wand against the fingers of his left hand absently as he leaned against the dark stone wall.  
  
"No, he suspects nothing."  
  
"Good. And how is your little project coming along?"  
  
Macnair grinned, "ahead of schedule sir, we are merely waiting on a shipment of supplies from Syria before we begin the next stage."  
  
"Excellent, do not fail me in this Macnair."  
  
"I would never dream of failing you sir, of course everything should go smoothly since we already have the most important piece of the puzzle."  
  
"Yes we do," Draco pulled a small vile out of his pocket and examined the dark contents closely, "it's amazing what such a little thing can do. But the contents of this vile will be key to bringing down the man who killed my father."  
  
"It won't be long sir."  
  
"No, but it can't come soon enough."

* * *

Dierna made her way up to the owlery, a long rambling letter written for Mrs. MacNeill clutched in her hand. She intended to keep her promise to Stefan about keeping in touch with his mother. Mrs. MacNeill loved her like a daughter, and Dierna happily returned the affection.  
  
She walked up an aisle on the far side of the owlery and stopped in front of Boudicca. "Hello darling," she scratched the snowy white owl under her beak, "feel like going out for a bit?"  
  
Boudicca ruffled her feathers slightly and gently nipped at Dierna's fingers affectionately.  
  
Dierna laughed softly, "at least you don't try to take my hand off like that blasted dragon did." She tied the letter to her owl's leg, "take this to Mrs. MacNeill for me sweetheart." She watched as the snowy owl spread her wings and flew out the large window.  
  
"I've finally caught you alone, how... fortunate."  
  
Dierna stiffened as an arm came around her waist, she hadn't heard anyone approaching. "Get off of me now Connor."  
  
"Why should I? You know you want it."  
  
Dierna cringed as his hand started to slide below her waist, "I told you to get off of me."  
  
"But I'm not going to, what are you going to do about it?" Connor pulled her back into him, his breath hot and heavy on the back of her neck.  
  
Dierna wrenched herself out of his grasp and moved towards the door, she was almost there when Connor grabbed her wrist and spun her around, clutching her to his chest. Dierna struggled against his grasp, "if you don't let go I swear I'll scream."  
  
"Go ahead, there's no one up here to hear you."  
  
Dierna was seething, "let me go down," she spoke through clenched teeth.  
  
"I already told you I'm not going to."  
  
Dierna pulled herself far enough away from Connor to get her right arm free. She clenched her hand into a fist and felt a strong sense of satisfaction when she swung and felt it connect with Connor's jaw.  
  
"You little..." Whatever Connor was going to call her was cut off by a stern voice.  
  
"What is going on in here?!" Remus Lupin stood in the doorway.  
  
"Nothing, just a little misunderstanding," Connor instantly regained his composure.  
  
Dierna stared at him, mouth hanging open. How could he blatantly lie like that? Sure, Dierna had lied countless times to her parents, but they almost always saw right through it, and if they didn't her conscious got the better of her and she told them. But it appeared as though Connor had no problem claiming that every thing was fine, and it looked like he would get away with it.  
  
"Well, do you have something to add Miss Snape?" Remus looked at her pointedly.  
  
Dierna's mouth moved, but no sound came out. She didn't even know where to begin, "he tried to, he tried to..." Dierna paused, what had Connor tried? Dierna knew that he hadn't come up there with the intention of rape. He would have tried that somewhere more secluded. But the touching, the groping, the verbal abuse, where did that all fall?  
  
"Well?" Remus waited for her to continue, but Dierna merely hung her head. Remus sighed, it was obvious that something had happened, and knowing the two students the way he did Remus didn't doubt that Connor had somehow started it, however he had walked in to see Dierna punch him. "Both of you have detention for what I observed. Acts of violence are not tolerated here at Hogwarts. Is that understood?"  
  
Connor shrugged, "if that's all can I go?"  
  
Remus leveled the younger man with a stern gaze, no, he didn't trust him at all, "go, I'll arrange your detention later."  
  
Dierna sniffed, and quickly blinked back the tears that were threatening to spill over. She did not cry, she would not cry. She glanced up when Professor Lupin laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
Dierna nodded mutely.  
  
"Are you sure? Because if he tried anything..."  
  
"He just tried to scare me, it wasn't anything."  
  
Remus had the distinct feeling that he wasn't getting the whole truth; there was more to it than that. But he wasn't going to force the girl to tell him. "Where are you headed to now?"  
  
"Back to the common room," she sniffed again.  
  
"Would you like me to walk you back?"  
  
Another mute nod.  
  
"Alright, come on," Remus slid his hand down to her back and led her out of the owlery and down the narrow flight of stairs to the long corridor that would lead them back to the Gryffindor tower.  
  
Dierna stopped at the beginning of the corridor, "don't you have something more important to do, I mean you didn't come up to the owlery for no reason," she gestured to the letter in his hand.  
  
Remus smiled, "it's nothing urgent, just a letter to a good friend of mine in Greece, it can wait. Right now I'm more concerned about you."  
  
"Oh..."  
  
Remus looked down at her, and made a quick decision. He started her walking again, but not in the direction of the Gryffindor tower. In her distressed state Dierna didn't even notice until they came to a stop in front of her mother's office.  
  
"Why are we here?" Dierna looked up at Professor Lupin, a confused expression on her face.  
  
"Because you look like you need to be with someone, I'm not going to leave you alone after what happened. But, before we go in I want to make one thing very clear. I understand that you probably had very good reason for punching Mr. Macnair, but that is still not acceptable behavior. This is your one warning about the use of violence Dierna, unless he physically harms you don't do that again."  
  
"Yes sir," Dierna looked down at her feet, she almost felt bad for hitting Connor, she only wished she had hit him harder.  
  
"Good, I'm glad that's settled," Remus raised his hand and knocked on the door to Morgan's office.  
  
He rested his hands lightly on Dierna's shoulders; he could feel the girl trembling slightly. He had the strong suspicion that whatever had happened between her and Connor and affected her much more than she was trying to let on.  
  
Remus was slightly surprised when it was Severus who came to the door and not Morgan, but he quickly covered the surprise. He was convinced that Dierna just needed to be with at least one of her parents right now, perhaps they could get her to describe exactly what happened. Remus didn't personally feel like he could broach the subject of sexual harassment if Dierna wasn't going to open the subject. He also knew that she would be much more likely to open up to her parents. "I brought you something," he kept his voice light even though his expression was dark as his eyes met Severus'.  
  
"And to what do we owe this visit?" Severus asked as Morgan appeared at his side.  
  
Remus calmly explained the situation as he had witnessed it. He watched as Morgan reached for her daughter and embraced the much taller girl.  
  
"Are you alright darling?" Morgan let go of Dierna and looked her in the eye.  
  
Dierna nodded, "yes Mum, I'm fine."  
  
Morgan frowned slightly, she had a feeling her daughter was anything but fine, "come sit down with me darling," she gently led Dierna to the couch and sat down with her arms still around her daughter. "Remus, stay and have a cup of tea?" She looked to her colleague.  
  
"I'm afraid I'll have to decline, I still have a few things to take care of," he held up the letter in his hand.  
  
"Remus," Severus stopped him before he could leave, "I would make one request, don't let Connor and Dierna serve detention together. I don't want him near my daughter any more than absolutely necessary."  
  
Remus nodded, "I had planned on taking care of that. Although what I observed clearly put Dierna at fault, I have every reason to believe that it's lucky for her that I showed up when I did. Your daughter has a pretty mean right hook," Remus smiled bitterly, his eyes remorseful, "but Connor could probably overpower her, he has his size to his advantage. I'm definitely going to keep a closer eye on him now."  
  
"As will I, I feel responsible for the actions of the members of my house, no matter how deplorable those actions may be." Severus' face was hard. Yes, his daughter had been in the wrong when she used physical violence, but he could tell that she had been hurt far worse emotionally.  
  
Remus nodded in agreement before he turned to leave, he did feel responsible for Dierna since she was a member of his house. However, he had the benefit of turning her over to her parents, something that he often wished he could do with some of his other students.  
  
Severus turned back to face Morgan and Dierna who were still sitting on the couch under a large open window. "What happened?"  
  
Dierna glanced up at her father, "Professor Lupin told you what..."  
  
"I want to hear it from you," Severus kept his voice calm; he knew that she was trying to avoid something.  
  
Dierna shrugged, "Connor was trying to bother me and I guess I overreacted, I'm sorry I hit him," well, not really sorry if she was being truthful, but that didn't matter.  
  
Morgan gently took Dierna's face between her hands, forcing her daughter to look at her, "did he say or do anything to you that was at all questionable."  
  
Dierna sighed, "Really Mum, he tried to scare me, but he didn't hurt me."  
  
"Dierna, please don't lie to me like this. I can clearly see that you're not alright. Did he try to..." Morgan felt her voice catch in her throat. The thought of her daughter being harmed was too much for her.  
  
"Mum, he tried to scare me, he did put his arm around me, but I am fine. Don't worry about it anymore." Dierna's voice was stressed. She didn't need her parents watching her every move. She would just make sure to stay closer to Nick now, Connor wouldn't bother her than.  
  
Severus seemed to read her thoughts, "I don't want you wandering around the school by yourself; make sure you're at least with either Serena or Nick."  
  
Dierna nodded.  
  
Severus sat down next to his daughter and wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders, "and just between you and me, I cannot wait to see if you gave Connor a black eye."  
  
Dierna smiled to herself. That would be something she would enjoy seeing. 


	21. Chapter 21

Minerva paced her office impatiently, waiting for Remus and Severus to arrive. They had a rather urgent matter on their hands, and it was going to take a bit of work to smooth it over. She sighed, she also had to wait for a ministry member to arrive, this was a very urgent matter.  
  
As she paced the office she took in the change in decoration that had taken place since it had become hers. The only thing that was really the same as when the office had been Albus' were the portraits of former headmasters and headmistresses that lined the upper part of the walls. She didn't have the vast amount of trinkets that he had had. The office was somewhat sparsely, but very tastefully decorated.  
  
She looked up sharply when the door swung open, "Good afternoon Severus, Remus. I see that you received my message."  
  
"What happened?" Remus looked concerned.  
  
Minerva shook her head, "the Ministry is sending someone over, I think any explanations should wait till then."  
  
"I heard that there was another disturbance in Paris," Severus calmly observed as he took a seat. "Does this have anything to do with that?"  
  
Minerva held his gaze for a long moment, "You heard about that already?"  
  
Severus nodded.  
  
Minerva shook her head in disbelief, "You have a way of always staying a step ahead of everyone else. Yes, this has to do with the incident in Paris."  
  
"You know that he's never going to change, these incidents should not be a surprise. But, he is a rather fascinating man." Severus smiled slightly, "although it is that fascinating side of him that got him kicked out of the country in the first place."  
  
Remus frowned, he felt like he was being left in the dark, "Who are you talking about."  
  
Severus shot a sideways glance at Remus, "who is the only wizard in Paris that manages to cause this much trouble?"  
  
Remus thought a moment, "Eric?"  
  
Severus nodded, "every time, and it's always the same thing. At least we know what to expect from him."  
  
"Perfect," Remus muttered, "this is not the kind of thing we need with all of the other problems we're having with the new dark forces."  
  
"He always picks the most inconvenient times," Minerva looked very displeased.  
  
"Albus always saw past that," Remus smiled fondly at memories of Dumbledore standing up for Eric.  
  
"Of course he did," Severus replied, "Eric was one of his closest friends. By the way, is he still terrorizing chorus girls?"  
  
Minerva shot a disapproving glance at Severus, "that is completely beside the point."  
  
"I'll take that as a yes."  
  
They were interrupted by a knock on the office door.  
  
"Come in," Minerva smiled slightly when Ron Weasley entered the room. She had been hoping that he would be who the Ministry sent. "Mr. Weasley, it's good to see you again, although I wish it could be under better circumstances."  
  
"It's good to see you again too Professor McGonagall. Now, shall we discuss the real reason I'm here?"  
  
"Of course," Minerva motioned Ron towards a seat, "now that we're all here would you like to tell us exactly what happened in Paris this morning.  
  
Ron skimmed his file on the case as he spoke, "well, this is really just normal behavior for Eric. Another kidnapping case, he returned the girl unharmed the next morning, as usual. And he killed someone, again. This time it was a man, who has not yet been identified, but who has the dark mark associated with Voldemort and had been accused of killing a muggle."  
  
"At least he's still on our side," Remus commented dryly.  
  
Severus frowned, "this is all typical of Eric, so why are you here Mr. Weasley?"  
  
Ron leaned back, "Because he has all those damn defenses up around his lair. The French Ministry can't get him to come out and they asked us to intervene. We got a message to Eric, but he says he'll only talk to someone who understands him. That means someone who Dumbledore had introduced him to. And that would be one of you three."  
  
Minerva sighed, "Why is it so important that we deal with him, can't we just let it go this time?"  
  
"Not this time," Ron looked serious, "he claims to have a complete list of everyone involved in the new movement of dark forces. That includes all of them that have supposedly infiltrated the ministry."  
  
There was a stunned silence in the room as everyone let that information set in.  
  
"The Ministry desperately needs that information," Ron continued, "will you help us?"  
  
"Of course we will," Remus replied.  
  
"I have one question," Minerva looked skeptical, "how did Eric come up with this information?"  
  
Before Ron could answer Severus spoke up, "probably the same way he did last time. You know very well that his room of mirrors isn't just for show, he still uses it to torture people."  
  
Minerva grimaced slightly, if Eric hadn't proven to be so valuable so many different times the Ministry would have locked him up a long time ago. In fact, the only reason he hadn't been put in Azkaban for his most infamous kidnapping during the early 1900s had been due to the intervention of Dumbledore. He constantly caused problems for both the British and French Ministries, but he was also an invaluable resource to them.  
  
"Mr. Weasley, none of us are free to travel to Paris right now, but I will send a letter to Eric. Hopefully he can be reasoned with that way," Severus was still calm. He wasn't affected nearly as much by the news as his two colleagues were. He had spent more time with Eric than either of them had, he had stopped being surprised by his actions long ago.  
  
"Well, I think that covers it," Ron smiled slightly, "so unless you have any more questions I would like to see my children before I head back to work." Ron rose to leave.  
  
"Of course," Minerva smiled, "I hope this situation clears up quickly."

* * *

"So, how do we want to do this?" William leaned against the wall as he talked to Kamen.  
  
"I think I can handle most of the talking, it shouldn't be too much of a problem," he smiled slightly as he watched his sisters and Nick at the other end of the common room. He had no qualms about manipulating Nick to fit his plans, anything to make sure that he could get with Celeste.  
  
"Want to do this now?" William grinned.  
  
"No time like the present," Kamen sauntered over to Nick, William close behind him. "Hey Nick! Take a walk with us, there's something we should discuss," Kamen put his arm companionably around Nick as he led him towards the exit to the common room.  
  
"Hey Kamen! Bring him back soon, he's supposed to help me with my transfiguration homework," Serena called after her brother.  
  
Kamen absently waved a hand at his sister, "I'll have him back soon, I promise."  
  
"What is this about guys?" Nick looked skeptically at Kamen and William as they led him out of the common room as he tried to figure out what was going on. He hoped he hadn't gotten himself into trouble with his two friends and teammates.  
  
"Just a bit of a business proposition for you Nick, an opportunity has presented itself that we thought you might have an interest in." Kamen was grinning.  
  
"What exactly are you talking about?" Nick still looked skeptical.  
  
"It's rather simple actually," William spoke up, "you're still single and we there is a certain lucky lady we want to see you hook up with."  
  
"Yes, a very lucky lady, now you want to do your friends a favor don't you?" Kamen didn't wait for Nick to respond, "We want you to get to know her a bit better, show her a good time."  
  
"Ok, wait a minute. Who are you talking about?" Nick was thoroughly confused now.  
  
"Andromache Weasley," Kamen grinned at the look on Nick's face.  
  
"You've got to be kidding? She is a prefect and a complete stickler for the rules, I don't need a girl like that, she'd only drag me down."  
  
"Now see, that's where your logic is flawed. Think of it as a challenge, ultimate dating. What do you say?" William tried to convince Nick.  
  
"I want to know why you want this so bad," Nick raised a questioning eyebrow.  
  
"We just want you to be happy," Kamen said, while he added silently that he wanted anything that would get him as far with Celeste as possible. Using Nick and Andromache to make that happen didn't bother him, not if Celeste would be his final reward.

* * *

Sophia reached out her hand and tentatively stoked the soft feathers around the owl's neck. She wasn't very used to dealing with owls. They weren't a popular way of sending messages in Greece, but her guardian often received messages from friends in other parts of the world. They all used different birds, or sometimes other more exotic creatures, for correspondence.  
  
"Can I take this from you?" Sophia gently slipped the letter off of the owl's leg. She pushed a plate of olives towards him, "I don't know if you'll like those, but it's all I have up here." She giggled when the owl turned his head away from the olives, clearly unimpressed.  
  
She watched as the owl spread his wings and flew away. She often wished she could fly away like that, leave the world behind. But she loved her training too much and her mentor. That thought propelled her into action; she had to take the letter that had just arrived down to her guardian.  
  
Sophia ran down the stairs from the balcony on top of the temple and down towards the water. Her long red hair, loosely held back from her face by a few braids, flew out behind her as the sea breeze caught it. She squinted her bright eyes, which were the same color as the Mediterranean the lay before her, against the brightness of the afternoon sun.  
  
"Kalliope!" She called to her guardian where she stood further down by the water.  
  
The woman turned from the water to watch her ward come running down the beach. She pushed back her long dark hair as the breeze blew it into her face. And although the expression on her face was serious her dark eyes were smiling. "What is it little one?" She questioned as Sophia came closer.  
  
"An owl brought a letter," she handed the letter from, "who is it from?"  
  
Kalliope didn't open the letter but glanced at the handwriting on the outside of it, "an old friend of mine from England, he's a teacher at a school for children about your age."  
  
Sophia wrinkled her nose at being called a child, at 15 she felt that she was already grown up. After all, she had already gone through the rites of womanhood.  
  
Kalliope laughed softly at the look on Sophia's face, "don't be in such a rush little one, you will still be counted among the children till you go through the full initiation to become a priestess. While you are still a novice you are still a child."  
  
"Yes Kalliope," Sophia looked down at her bare feet and felt very self conscious of the loose white robes of a novice priestess that she still wore. It seemed like her initiation was still a long way off.  
  
"Have you finished your duties in the temple?" Kalliope asked as she smiled at her ward. Kalliope truly loved the girl who had been left on the temple steps as an infant. Although Sophia had been brought up in the temple by all the priestesses Kalliope had taken her under her wing. She saw the girl as her daughter.  
  
"Almost, I fed the snakes this morning. But I still need to help Theodora tally the offerings."  
  
"Then go see to that. After dinner tonight I want to see you in my chambers, we need to try to make a connection again tonight. You must gain control of your visions if you are to be made a priestess."  
  
"I know, and I'm trying, but it's hard."  
  
"I know it is little one, but it will come to you eventually. Remember, I had to go through the same process, you will be able to control them soon."  
  
"I won't disappoint you Kalliope," Sophia impulsively embraced her guardian before running back up the beach toward the temple.  
  
Kalliope smiled as she watched the retreating figure of the girl. She was truly talented and would make a fine priestess some day. She shook her head and returned her attention to the letter in her hand.  
  
She slowly opened the letter, a smile playing at her lips as she gently traced a finger over the familiar handwriting. She read through the letter. She always enjoyed letters from him. They were always so pleasant and so personal. Just like when they used to talk together, their conversations sometimes lasting all night.  
  
Kalliope sighed, she had dedicated her life to her goddess, but the rules governing the lives of the priestesses did not forbid men or marriage to her. But he lived so far away, and they hadn't seen each other in years. Letters were all they had now.  
  
Kalliope closed her eyes as the soft sea breeze swept over her. Greece was home, it was all she had ever known. But she would give it up for him. He was worth it. He had always been worth it. She was left to wonder if she could undo the mistakes she had made years ago. She still wanted him, but did he want her?

* * *

Morgan loosely wrapped a blanket around her petit frame as she softly made her way into her and Sev's bedroom. She had been sitting up waiting for him to come back, but it was now well past midnight and it didn't look like her husband would be back anytime soon.  
  
She frowned as she sat down on their bed. She wasn't worried about him, but she didn't like going to sleep alone. She continued to frown as she absently kicked her bare feet against the side of the bed. She suddenly giggled, realizing how childish her behavior was.  
  
"What is so amusing?"  
  
Morgan's head shot up and she smiled. She was pleased to see Severus standing in the door, casually leaning against the wall watching her.  
  
"I'm still waiting for an answer, or should I assume that you've been up to no good again?"  
  
Morgan bit her lip to keep from laughing at the teasing tone in her husband's voice. "I was just laughing at myself Severus. I promise I haven't done anything." Her eyes widened in innocence.  
  
Severus smiled, "you know that act won't work with me. Now, what have you been up to this evening?"  
  
"Nothing..."  
  
Severus made a sound of disgust, he didn't believe that answer in the slightest. "I'm still waiting..."  
  
"Come on Sevy, why don't you believe me?" Morgan pouted slightly as she tried not to laugh.  
  
Severus crossed the room to the bed and sat down next to his wife, "because, every time you try to act innocent like this you either want something or have done something you don't want me to know about."  
  
"Severus, name one instant when I have done something like that!" Morgan narrowed her eyes at him.  
  
"Gladly, last week you took it upon yourself to reorganize my desk after I told you not to touch it; you tried to use that adorable pout of yours to wheedle your way around me. Now, what is it that you want?" Severus' voice was light as he teased his wife.  
  
"Well... I was thinking again..."  
  
"Always dangerous in your case."  
  
Morgan chose to ignore that comment and continued, "Well, it would be so easy to convert one of the rooms into a nursery..."  
  
Severus sighed, he had thought that this topic would have been dropped by now. He lay back on the bed and closed his eyes, choosing not to respond to this particular topic.  
  
Morgan eyed her husband carefully, trying to judge just how far she could push this topic before he would get truly annoyed with her. She moved across the bed and she crouched next to him, her hair hanging down so that it brushed against the side of his face. "Sev, are you going to ignore me or can we discuss this?"  
  
"We have already discussed it and my answer is still no."  
  
"Please Sev, be reasonable."  
  
"I am being reasonable."  
  
"No you're not."  
  
Severus knew exactly what she was doing. She was trying to bait him into an argument so that he would feel guilty and give in to her. "Darling, you know that after what happened before you might not even be able to conceive again."  
  
"I know Sev, so why can't we at least try?" Morgan lay down on her stomach, her chin propped up on Severus' chest. She let one of her hands slowly slide down his chest and stopped for only an instant before letting it go farther. She watched Severus closely for any reaction. Her lips twitched in amusement as he sighed and then grabbed her hand and moved it away.  
  
Sev opened his eyes and watched his wife for a long moment. If she was going to back down she would have done it by now, which meant that he was going to keep hearing about this unless he gave in. "Morgan, are you sure that you are aware of the risks involved?" His hand came out and gently cupped her face before it slid down, releasing the buttons on the oversized nightshirt of his that she was wearing. His breathing remained even as the shirt came open under his touch.  
  
"Yes..." Morgan felt her mouth grow dry as her husband's hand moved across her body, paying close attention to her breasts.  
  
"And you are completely sure that you want this?" He stroked her soft skin with the backs of his fingers.  
  
"Yes." Morgan held her husband's gaze; she held her breath waiting to see what he would do.  
  
Severus sighed as his eyes slid shut again, "you know I can't deny you anything."  
  
Morgan squealed in delight, "Thank you Sev! You're so wonderful," She took his hand in hers and placed it over her flat stomach, "very soon we could have another little one here, wouldn't that be wonderful?"  
  
Severus smiled slightly, "yes. But do you know what is going to be just as wonderful?"  
  
"What?" Morgan fought a smile, she had a feeling she knew exactly what his answer was going to be.  
  
Morgan squealed again when she suddenly found herself on her back with both of her wrists pinned above her head in one of Severus' strong hands. He gently ran the back of his other hand along the side of her face, "I love you."  
  
"I know you do," Morgan smiled up at him, "and I love you."  
  
"And you're sure you want another child? You realize the amount of time they will take up and how much more stress you will be under?"  
  
"Yes, and I know how wonderful it would be to hold a baby again, to have a little one to sing to sleep. I want this Sev."  
  
"Very well," Sev kissed his wife passionately and was more than pleased at the way she responded to his touch. Her body rose up to meet his as the kiss grew deeper. Severus let go of her hands so that he could slowly undress her. If he was going to go through with this plan he was going to do things right. Not that he didn't treat her like a goddess every other time while they used a highly effective contraceptive. But this was different. 


	22. Chapter 22

Nick tried to tell himself to calm down. He wasn't sure that he trusted either Kamen or William about this, but he had to admit, Andromache Weasley was rather pleasing to look at. Maybe he would take a shot at this.  
  
Nick slowly made his way across the common room to where Andromache was sitting by herself, working on homework as usual. He cleared his throat softly when he was next to her, causing her to look up.  
  
"Did you want something Nick?" Andromache didn't bother keeping the hints of impatience out of her voice. She was trying to work ahead on some homework and really didn't feel like being interrupted.  
  
Nick searched for an excuse for being there; he had to have a reason for being there. He thought frantically. "Ummm... I... I was wondering if you had finished the Transfiguration homework, I was having a bit of a problem with the theory behind complex animal transfiguring. Could you help me with it?" William hoped she wouldn't pick up on the lie, Transfiguration was actually the only class he was doing good in right now.  
  
"I'm not going to let you copy my work," Andromache was scowling slightly.  
  
"I don't want to copy it, could you explain it to me?"  
  
Andromache sighed as she looked at the various books and papers spread out around her. She had been looking forward to getting ahead in her homework, but she couldn't leave a fellow house member in a lurch, "fine, but it can't take too long."  
  
"I'm sure it won't, you're so smart Andromache, it shouldn't be a problem for you to explain it to me." Nick hoped that flattery would work on her.  
  
"Don't try to flatter me, I'll help you if you really need it but don't expect to get anything else from me." Andromache held her head up and looked haughtily at Nick.  
  
"I didn't want anything else, just some help on my homework."  
  
"Fine. Take a seat," she gestured impatiently at the seat across the table from her. The sooner she helped him with his homework the sooner he would leave her alone.  
  
Nick repressed a smile. He wasn't sure yet if he was really interested in Andromache, but William had been right, this would be a challenge. And Nick loved a challenge.

* * *

Serena gazed up at the moon, it was so bright tonight. She sighed at the beauty of it, at the beauty of the night sky. She closed her eyes as a cool breeze caught her hair and gently lifted it away from her neck. She smiled when she felt a warm hand move to the back of her neck, its touch gentle.  
  
"Mark..."  
  
"Hmmm..."  
  
"We probably shouldn't stay up her much longer."  
  
"I know, but it is a nice place for a date isn't it?"  
  
Serena bit her lip as she smiled, "yes it is."  
  
They were up in the astronomy tower, which was off limits to students outside of class. But it was one of the few places they could meet. And it was a rather romantic spot; they just had to be careful. They ran the risk of being caught not only the teachers or Filch, but also by other students. It was a favorite spot for young lovers to sneak off to. But on a weeknight like tonight they ran less chance of being discovered.  
  
As they sat under the broad expanse of the night sky Serena leaned back against Mark. His arms slid around her, they gently cradled her against him, pulling her back.  
  
"Mark, I'm not sure if we should do this."  
  
"Do what?"  
  
"I don't know..."  
  
"Do you want to go?"  
  
Serena sighed, "I don't want to leave you, but I just have a feeling we should leave soon, I don't want to get caught up here."  
  
"I understand," Mark released his hold on Serena and stood up before offering his hand to help her up off the floor.  
  
"I love you," Serena kept a hold on Mark's hand even after she was back on her feet.  
  
Mark gently removed his hand from Serena's so that he could place his hands on either side of her face and kiss her. It was gentle at first but became much more passionate. When they separated for a moment Serena took a couple of involuntary steps backward, and found herself up against a wall.  
  
Mark dipped his head and kissed her again. Serena sighed slightly as she brought up her arms and wrapped them around his neck, enjoying the way that Mark pulled her into him.  
  
"We should go..." Serena managed to say between kisses.  
  
"Just a little longer," Mark allowed his hands to roam. His fingers shook slightly as he undid the first several buttons on Serena's shirt.  
  
Serena pushed away slightly, "no," her breathing was ragged. "I can't Mark, not yet. Give me a little time?"  
  
Mark didn't let his disappointment show, "of course. I won't rush you Serena, we won't do this until you're ready."

* * *

"Try again," Kalliope's voice was firm yet gentle as she instructed her young ward.  
  
Sophia bent over the large bronze water basin again and tried to will a vision to form. But the water remained blank. After several very long minutes she sighed in frustration. "I can't see anything!"  
  
"Do not lose patience. You did well tonight; you can't expect to see something every time you try yet. You still have much to learn."  
  
"I know, but I want to be able to call them now."  
  
Kalliope smiled indulgently, she knew what it felt like to be a novice. There had been a time when she had been impatient to possess all of her powers. She repressed a shudder; she had been so young then, so naïve. "I think it is time that you got to bed. You won't see anymore tonight. But you will be able to control the visions eventually. Before long you will be able to call them at will and you will be initiated as a priestess."  
  
"Sometimes it seems like it will never come."  
  
"But it will. Now off with you, to bed!" Kalliope embraced the girl before sending her off towards the room that she shared with the other novices.  
  
Kalliope moved to the large bronze basin and knelt in front of it, and released her hair from the clip that held it back. As her hair flowed down around her she ran her hand over the surface of the water and murmured a charm, then speaking louder, "show me Remus."  
  
She watched as the image in the water swirled and showed her Remus Lupin. He was sitting at his desk, bent over some papers. She watched as the soft candle light played off of his features. "Oh Remus..."  
  
She fought back a cry of despair as she watched him. So long ago she had had a chance with him. And she had thrown it away. She watched him for a long time as she relived moments from her past.  
  
Finally Kalliope sighed and ran her hand across the surface of the water again, dispelling the image of Remus. She still had duties to attend to, "show me any threats that may press themselves on my people." She watched as the image swirled again. She was the guardian of her people, one of the greatest prophetesses they had ever seen. It was her duty to foresee any harm that may befall their temple and the inhabitants of the magic community in general. It was a duty she took very seriously.  
  
Kalliope frowned at the images that came to her. They did not portend well. There were dark figures, both darkly clothed and dark in nature. She only half listened to their conversation, it probably wasn't of any importance to her.  
  
She recognized the group; they were remnants of Voldemort's forces. That man had been a fool. But then again, most members of that arrogant sex generally were. She continued to watch, the vision had produced nothing important yet, but she knew that her goddess wouldn't lead her blindly.  
  
She gasped when a figure she knew all too well entered the vision. Draco Malfoy. She barred her teeth at his image; her breathing was heavy as she sought to control her mounting anger.  
  
He had been little more than a boy when she last saw him, but even then he had been capable of so much evil. He had hurt her worse than any man had a right to; he had stolen the most precious gift she had ever produced for her goddess. And she had marked him for it. She had called upon the earth, the mother of them all, to make him pay for harming one of the goddess's own.  
  
And yet he was still here, still radiating evil. He would pay for his insolence one day. A priestess did not always act immediately. Years of service had taught Kalliope patience. She could wait for the moment. But the direction of her visions told her that she may not have too much longer to wait.

* * *

Remus sat at his desk, bent over a stack of papers that were waiting to be graded. He felt an odd sensation, like he was being watched. But he knew that there was no one else in the room.  
  
He sighed as he leaned back in his chair and stretched, he'd probably just been working for too long and his mind was playing tricks on him. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind so that he could concentrate on finishing up the papers he was working on.  
  
He reached for his quill again but noticed that he was out of ink. He opened the bottom drawer on his desk to get more, but he hesitated. He reached farther back in the drawer and withdrew a picture taken years ago.  
  
He smiled at the picture, as Kalliope smiled back up at him from it. Her hair was caught in the sea breeze he remembered so well from the time he had spent in Greece. He ran a finger across the picture; the picture had captured a rare smile from her. He had spent most of his time in Greece comforting her after an untimely attack from remnants of Voldemort's forces.  
  
She had been so young then, but she had seemed so old. He reflected that the women of her particular culture often grew up very fast due to the fact that they clung to the old ways. It produced an incredibly strong breed of women.  
  
Remus carefully replaced the picture and closed the desk drawer. It was one distraction that he didn't need tonight if he was going to get anything else done. But, he smiled to himself; he very much admired a strong woman.

* * *

Serena made her way back to the Gryffindor tower carefully. It was well past curfew and she knew that she would be in a world of trouble if she got caught. She heard a noise further up the hallway and quickly darted into a side passage, pressing herself into the shadows.  
  
Serena held her breath as the footsteps came closer; she closed her eyes, not daring to move. She only let out her breath when the footsteps moved past her. She chanced a glance out into the hallway and saw Professor Black moving in the opposite direction from Gryffindor tower.  
  
She breathed a sigh of relief as she hurried to the portrait of the fat lady, "scarlet pimpernel," she quickly said the password, desperately wanting to get inside before anyone else came this way. The fat lady had been asleep and she murmured something about children being out at all hours of the night as she swung open.  
  
Serena dashed through the portrait hole and rushed up the stairs to the girls' dormitory. She wasn't surprised to see that Dierna was still up; her twin was definitely a night owl.  
  
"Have fun with Mark?" Dierna asked from where she sat cross-legged on her bed as she set her book down.  
  
"Uh-huh," Serena quickly changed into her pajamas and the joined Dierna on her bed so that the two were sitting knee to knee.  
  
"So what did you do?" Dierna drew the thick curtains close around the four poster bed as she whispered.  
  
Serena blushed slightly, "well..."  
  
Dierna grinned wickedly, "Did you...?"  
  
"No! But it came close."  
  
Dierna smiled at her sister, "You know most people think you're the good twin and that I've already done all that with Stefan, it would be pretty funny if you were to lose it before I did."  
  
Serena's blush deepened, "I've thought about that..."  
  
"So..."  
  
"You know the reasons for not rushing into this as well as I do."  
  
Dierna sighed, "Yeah I do. The chance of Dad finding out kinda ruins the mood." She frowned slightly. She would have slept with Stefan before now if it wasn't for the threat of what her father would do if he ever found out.  
  
"Exactly..."  
  
"You know," Dierna tipped her head to the side, "you might as well go for it, you'll already be in enough trouble as it is when Mum and Dad find out you've been seeing Mark behind their backs."  
  
Serena rolled her eyes at her sister, "you are completely lacking in tact."  
  
"Am not," Dierna playfully stuck her tongue out at her sister.  
  
Serena laughed softly, "thank you for just proving my point."  
  
Dierna grabbed her pillow from behind her and hit her twin in the head with it. Serena squealed as she launched herself at her sister. They struggled in a mock fight for a minute before they dissolved in a fit of giggles.  
  
"Shhhhh..." Serena tried to hush her sister, "the other girls are trying to sleep."  
  
"You started it."  
  
"Did not," Serena replied indignantly, "you were the one who hit me with a pillow."  
  
"Well you are the one with the illicit affair going on, which means that you had to sneak back here so late. So, technically, it's your fault." Dierna raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest giving a rather good imitation of their father's disapproving look.  
  
Serena fought back another fit of giggles, "you do that far too well, but I don't think Dad would appreciate that imitation."  
  
"Neither do I, but I think he'd like it a whole lot more than your little excursions."  
  
Serena grimaced slightly, "you don't think Mum and Dad know, do you?"  
  
"Of course not, you would have heard about it by now if they did."  
  
"Dierna, can I ask you a personal question?"  
  
"Of course," Dierna squeezed her sister's hand, "that's what twins are for."  
  
"How far have you and Stefan gone?"  
  
Dierna smiled, "well, as far as Mum and Dad know it hasn't gone beyond innocent kissing, but well... short of sleeping with him there isn't a whole lot we haven't tried."  
  
Serena giggled, "Has he ever pressured you to..."  
  
"No, he's too much of a gentleman." Dierna frowned, "Mark hasn't pressured you for anything has he? Because I'm not going to cover for him anymore if he has."  
  
"He hasn't pressured me, but he has made it clear what he wants and that he's willing to wait till I'm ready."  
  
"Good, 'cause I was going to have to kill him if he tried anything funny."  
  
That statement sent both girls into another fit of giggles, which was interrupted when the curtains on Dierna's bed were thrown open.  
  
"You know, it is after 2 in the morning and some of us are trying to sleep since we have classes in the morning."  
  
"Sorry about that Kandi," Serena looked up sheepishly at their dorm mate.  
  
"You know I don't normally mind, but we do have a test in Defense Against the Dark Arts tomorrow and I kinda want to get some sleep before then." Kandi smiled good naturedly, she and the twins were generally the only sixth year girls that joined the sixth and seventh year boys in the somewhat wild parties they threw on the weekends.  
  
"We'll be quiet now, I guess it is kinda late," Dierna picked up her pillow from where it had fallen on the ground.  
  
"Goodnight girls," Kandi said over her shoulder as she headed back to her bed.  
  
"G'night" Dierna and Serena said together as Serena headed back to her bed. But, there was one more fit of giggles before they finally went to sleep. 


	23. Chapter 23

* * *

"Why didn't we go to sleep earlier last night?" Serena felt like she was going to topple into her breakfast. She blinked her eyes several times, trying to stay awake.  
  
"Maybe if you hadn't been out half the night with Mark..."  
  
"Oh come off it Dierna! You wouldn't have gone to bed any earlier."  
  
"True, but it's so much easier to blame it on your nighttime excursions."  
  
Nick entered the Great Hall and smiled as he approached the Gryffindor table, the twins looked awful. "Good morning girls," he said pleasantly as he slid into a seat opposite them. "I hope you're ready for an intense practice this afternoon."  
  
Serena groaned as she buried her face in her arms on the table, "do we really have to have practice today?"  
  
"I can't believe you just asked me that Serena Snape! You're always ready for quidditch practice," Nick tried to frown at her as a smile pulled at the corners of his mouth.  
  
"Well if we had gone to sleep before 3 this morning we might be ready for a long practice." Dierna found enough energy to glare at her best friend.  
  
"I can't believe you girls, not going to bed till after 3. Mum and Dad will not be happy." Kamen wore a look of mock anger as he sat down next to Nick. "What will they say when I tell them," he slowly shook his head.  
  
"Shut up!" Dierna and Serena snapped together.  
  
Kamen turned to Nick and grinned, "Well if they're awake enough to yell at me they must be awake enough for their classes and for quidditch practice."  
  
"You're such a jerk Kamen," Serena glared at her brother.  
  
Kamen laughed at the glares he was getting, "I hope they don't treat you this bad Nick. Although they are vicious little minxes."  
  
"You're going to find yourself at the wrong end of a bludger bat at practice if you keep this up Kamen," Serena growled.  
  
"And that is my cue to leave," Kamen said as he stood up, "don't want to enrage the masses too much or anarchy will ensue."  
  
Nick laughed as Kamen left, and then he turned his attention back to the two girls across from him. "You girls ready for our test this morning?"  
  
"Oy! Don't remind me," Dierna buried her face in her hands.  
  
"You mean to tell me you stayed up till 3 and still didn't study for it?" Nick smiled at the forlorn look on Dierna's face, "come on Dierna, even I studied."  
  
"Well, I guess that means I'm really screwed if Nick took the time to study." Dierna played with the eggs on her plate. She hated mornings, and breakfast wasn't any better. She just couldn't eat this early, especially if she was worrying about a test.  
  
"Don't worry about it hon," Nick dropped the teasing tone and reached for Dierna's hand. "You're doing just fine in that class, you have nothing to worry about."  
  
Dierna sighed, "I know Nick, it's just Dad was threatening to take me off the quidditch team if any more of my grades slipped. You know that Divination has been complete disaster for me the last two years, and it's not looking any better now."  
  
"Well then I'm going to keep on you about your study habits so none of your other grades drop. I can't afford to lose one of the best chasers the team has ever seen."  
  
"Thanks Nick," Dierna smiled at him, "you know, I think if Stefan hadn't already claimed my heart I'd throw myself at you," she winked at him.  
  
"If you two are done flirting yet," Serena rolled her eyes as she teased Nick and Dierna, "we need to head to class if we don't want to be late."  
  
"Fine," Nick quipped as he stood up, "I'm ready to escort you ladies to class, where we are all going to ace our test," he looked at them meaningfully.  
  
"Sure Nick, whatever you say," Serena tossed her head as she took the arm he offered to her.

* * *

"Sev, stop! You're going to make me late." Morgan tried to turn around to glare at her husband, but he put his hands on the sides of her head to keep it facing forward.  
  
"I'm not letting you go yet."  
  
"Sev... please let me go."  
  
"Not until I finish this."  
  
"You do realize that this would go so much faster if you would let me brush my own hair."  
  
Severus smiled down at the top of his wife's head, "faster, but much less enjoyable for me."  
  
Morgan sighed as she admitted defeat, not that it was particularly horrible to let her husband win this one argument. She had no idea why he had such a fascination with brushing her hair, but if it kept him happy...  
  
"Ready for the weekend love?"  
  
"Yes, more than ready," Morgan closed her eyes; enjoying the feel of the brush as it Severus gently dragged it through her long hair.  
  
"Has it been that long for you?"  
  
"Mmm... yes."  
  
"You know, for as much fuss as you put up about me brushing your hair I would have to say that you look like you're enjoying yourself Mrs. Snape."  
  
"Shut up and keep brushing."  
  
Severus chuckled lightly, "I'm not going to do this if you start getting demanding."  
  
Morgan opened her eyes a little bit and muttered a few choice words when she saw how late it was. "We both need to leave now darling, otherwise we're going to be late for our own classes." Morgan turned around and embraced her husband quickly, pulling him down to her level for a quick kiss.  
  
Severus watched as his wife quickly made her way to the door, "I love you," he softly called after her.  
  
Morgan turned in the doorway to look back at him, "and I love you darling," she blew him a kiss before she turned and left.  
  
Severus stood there for a moment, staring at the spot his wife had just vacated. Gods, but he loved her more now than he had when they were first married. A small smile played at his lips as he thought about how incredible she was. Morgan was his life.  
  
Severus shook his head as he recollected himself. He schooled his features as he moved into the mindset of a strict potions master. He had a class of first years he needed to go terrorize.

* * *

Dierna glanced down at her test in Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was one of the very few written tests they would be doing, as most of the tests would be practical. And it was actually a lot easier than she was expecting. She breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
Dierna worked her way through the test quickly. It was mainly simple definitions and basic descriptions of the methods needed to deal with certain curses and magical creatures should you come in contact with them.  
  
It was a really fascinating subject, a million times better than Divination, though now where near as intriguing as Double Potions. Dierna finished and glanced over her answers quickly, no point in letting any stupid mistakes get through.  
  
Most of the class finished at about the same time, and all of the tests were handed in with 20 minutes of class left. "Well, since you all sped through that I guess I can jump ahead into next week's lesson plan," Remus tried to fight a smile as he was met with a chorus of groans. He held up a hand as he motioned for silence, "or..." he waited till he had everyone's attention, "or, I could let you out early."  
  
That suggestion was met with a much more favorable response as the whole class vocalized exactly which option they were in favor of. Remus laughed at the exuberance of his students. "Fine, class is dismissed."  
  
There was a mad rush for the door as everyone wanted to make the most of their few extra minutes of spare time. "One moment Dierna," Remus stopped the red head before she made it to the door.  
  
Dierna fought back a sigh of frustration, she had been so close. And she had really been hoping that Professor Lupin would have forgotten about the incident with Connor from earlier in the week.  
  
"Remember that your detention is tonight, be here at 8."  
  
Dierna frowned, "but I have quidditch practice till 8:30."  
  
"Then I guess you'll have to miss the last part of it."  
  
Dierna scowled.  
  
"I'm not trying to hurt the Gryffindor team Dierna, and you know that. Plus, that might give you something to think about the next time you decide to attack a fellow student, no matter how much they may deserve it."  
  
"Yes sir. Can I go now?"  
  
"Yes, I'll see you tonight, and please be on time."

* * *

"Don't get up girl, I'm not done with you yet," Draco snapped at the muggle woman at his side as she reached for a blanket. "Now what is it that you want Macnair that couldn't wait till I was indisposed?"  
  
Macnair let his eyes barely skim over the naked woman at Malfoy's side, who was still fully clothed himself. "Some of our scouts have reported that the Ministry is starting to get suspicious. They are going to start doing random checks on Ministry employees."  
  
"You fool! You interrupted me for that?!"  
  
"Yes sir, I thought it would be important..."  
  
Draco cut off the older man with a sharp downward slash of his hand, "there is a reason that our members have infiltrated nearly every level of the Ministry! It is so we don't have to worry about any security measures the Ministry may decide to take."  
  
"Of course sir, I just thought that you should be informed."  
  
"Wait till I'm not busy next time," Draco turned his attention back to the woman at his side as he grabbed her roughly.  
  
"Is that all sir?"  
  
"Yes, now get out you damnable fool!" Draco didn't watch Macnair leave; he had more 'important' matters to attend to.

* * *

"How are you feeling now hon?" Nick frowned slightly as Dierna turned away from him to cough. She had complained about a sore throat earlier and she was starting to sound pretty hoarse.  
  
"About the same, I slept through History of Magic and that helped a little." Dierna took a drink of pumpkin juice but ignored the rest of her lunch, food just didn't look appealing at the moment.  
  
"You should eat something," Nick looked concerned. He knew that Dierna would try to convince everyone that she was fine and just end up running herself further into the ground."  
  
"No, I'm fine."  
  
"Serena, tell her to eat something."  
  
Serena arched an eyebrow at Nick, "do you honestly think she'll listen to me. Remember, she's the impossible twin, I'm the sweet compliant one."  
  
Nick made a sound of disgust at that pronouncement, "neither of you two is sweet and compliant." He turned back to Dierna, "come on hon, eat something. Or better yet, go to the hospital ward and skip class this afternoon," he winked at her.  
  
Dierna laughed, "I'm not that sick Nick. Besides, I would have to have a much better excuse for missing potions."  
  
"Fine, I'll concede to that point. But you're not staying up late tonight, right after quidditch practice you're going to bed."  
  
"Oh Nick, I almost forgot. I have to miss the end of practice tonight for my detention with Lupin."  
  
"What?!" Nick looked furious, "he can't do that to his own house team! I'll be right back," Nick got up and stormed up to the staff table at the front of the Great Hall.  
  
Serena and Dierna watched in interest as Nick approached Professor Lupin and a one-sided argument ensued. Nick was arguing very animatedly and was attracting attention, especially from those students towards the front of the great hall. Dierna and Serena both giggled as Nick finally admitted defeat and trudged back to his spot next to them at the Gryffindor table.  
  
"Well, that attempt failed." Nick scowled down at his plate, "some people just don't understand the importance of a quidditch practice."  
  
"Don't worry about it Nick, with the way I'm feeling I probably won't be much use at practice anyways."  
  
Nick frowned, "you have the tendency to get sick at the most inconvenient times Dierna, go to the hospital wing now and get something for it!"  
  
Dierna tried to stifle a giggle at the serious expression on Nick's face, "really Nick, I'm not that bad yet. I'll probably feel much better this evening."

* * *

Morgan looked at her plate intently, not daring to meet her husband's eye. She slid her hand to his leg, undercover of the long table cloth. She traced her fingers along the inside of his thigh and continued to focus on her lunch.  
  
Severus frowned as he felt his wife's touch. This was highly inappropriate. "Morgan..." he kept his voice low, but there was a distinct warning in it.  
  
"What is it darling?"  
  
"If you don't stop that now..."  
  
"Yes?" Morgan moved her hand in small circles on his leg.  
  
"Not here."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Morgan..." Severus growled, he frowned down at her and found that he was lost in her deep brown eyes. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her up and out of the Great Hall.  
  
"Where are we going Sev?" Morgan looked at the fierce look on her husband's face.  
  
"To your office, I intend to use the last few minutes of the lunch break to my benefit."  
  
Morgan laughed and let herself be pulled along, this promised to be a very rewarding experience.

* * *

"You have to promise me you'll take care of yourself hon. I promised Stefan I'd look after you and if he came back right now I would get blasted for not doing my job right."  
  
Dierna smiled, "you're doing an excellent job looking after me Nick. Besides, Stefan would understand that it was my own stubborn nature and not your fault."  
  
"Well you're right about the stubborn part. I think I'm going to have to have a little talk with Stefan when he gets back, I have a couple of suggestions for him."  
  
"And what would those suggestions be Nick?" Dierna eyed him warily, she didn't like the way this conversation was going.  
  
Nick leaned back a little bit, trying to get a little further out of her reach before he continued, "well, for one, you're far too stubborn for your own good. I think a trip over Stefan's knee might just fix that."  
  
Dierna looked at Nick in shock for a moment as what he had suggested registered. She couldn't believe he would say something like that! She narrowed her eyes, "you're going to pay for that one Nick," she growled at him.  
  
"Really?" Nick leaned in so that his nose was touching Dierna's, "I somehow doubt that, besides, I have a feeling Stefan might just put that idea to use, it would probably improve your attitude."  
  
Dierna howled in outrage as she pushed Nick back, "you are such a jerk sometimes Nick!"  
  
"Well, I think you'll find it in your heart to forgive me pretty soon if you want me to escort you down to the dungeons for potions. And we better leave soon if you don't want to be late."  
  
Serena was doubled up laughing; the look on Dierna's face at Nick's suggestion had been priceless. And now it looked like Dierna was probably going to lynch Nick.  
  
Dierna pouted slightly, "I'm not going to forgive you for that comment yet Nick, but I will let you escort me to class."  
  
"You'll forgive me eventually, you always do," Nick took Dierna's hand in his own and smiled down at her, even though she was still glaring at him. 


	24. Chapter 24

"What do you see little one?" Kalliope stood slightly behind Sophia, who was gazing intently at the still water in a large bronze basin. The girl was lost in a trance, trying to gain control of her visions.  
  
"There is a heavy mist, it rolls over the land," Sophia's voice was detached. She could not yet always call the visions at will, and they still sometimes overpowered her.

"What do you see in the mist little one?" Kalliope prompted her gently.

"I think it is the Lady.""In what form?"  
  
"It is the maiden, she is crying, but I don't know why. Her eyes are so strange; no one in Greece has eyes that color purple." Sophia's detached voice held a note of wonder as she was drawn deeper into the vision.  
  
"What else do you see child?"  
  
"There are figures from the night; they serve the dark one, the enemy to the Lady. They move in slowly. No do not hurt her; the Lady will curse you if you harm one of her own!" Sophia's voice rose to a shrill scream at the contents of her vision.  
  
Kalliope sucked in her breath, and closed her eyes.

"What is happening?" There was urgency in her voice now.  
  
"No, no I cannot watch. They will hurt her, no they are hurting her. Oh what will her fate be? Will she fall as Kassandra did, a sworn virgin beloved of the goddess to be ravished by the invading hordes, or will someone save her before it is too late?" Sophia was shaking with tears streaming down her face; the vision was pulling her further in.   
  
"Enough!" Kalliope murmured a charm under her breath which broke Sophia's vision. "That is enough for one day; you have seen more than one so young should."   
  
Sophia was still shaking as she weakly stood up. "I wish I didn't have to remember what I saw."   
  
"You've come too far in your training for that; you will see what the goddess gives you to see."   
  
Sophia hung her head; she knew that she would do exactly as the elder priestess told her to. And that included being the oracle for visions such as the one she had just experienced.   
  
"I'm sorry little one; I did not mean to snap at you like that. I am just worried about the contents of your vision. I fear that we are headed for dark times."   
  
"Dark times?"   
  
Kalliope nodded, "I have seen them before, and I had hoped that you would never have to experience them." Kalliope shuddered, she remembered all to well the experience she had suffered at the hands of the death eaters. She hoped that things would not get that bad again.   
  
Sophia shivered. Despite the warm air she felt very cold. She had never had such a terrifying vision before.  
  
Kalliope dragged herself out of the past as she noticed the distressed state of her young charge. "Go lay down, you need to rest after such an intense vision. You are released from the rest of your temple duties today. Try to relax and get some rest." She watched the girl leave and sighed. Things had a tendency to not go as smoothly as she wished they would.   
  
Kalliope focused once again on what she could discern from her ward's vision. She could only think of one place that would have the heavy mist Sophia had described, Britain. Now she needed to contact several people there, it was her job as the senior oracle of the temple.   
  
The lady of the lake must be contacted, her sister priestesses of Avalon needed to be made aware of the threat to their isle. And while she could connect to them through a vision she did not feel up to that strain right now. She would do this the more common way and write them a letter. Besides, she should write to Remus too. That way he could alert the wizarding world should the need arise. And, she longed for a reason, any reason, to contact him.

Kalliope moved from the inner sanctuary, where most visions were called, and moved to her own private chamber. The room was small, but she loved it because it was her own. That was one of the main benefits of being a senior priestess; she didn't have to share her room with any of the other women.   
  
Her room was sparsely furnished. It only contained her bed, and a small bench. But she had fine linen hanging from her windows, which opened out onto the Mediterranean. The view from her room was spectacular.   
  
She sank down on her bed and retrieved a few sheets of parchment and a smooth board that she wrote on. She wrote a short missive to the lady of the lake. She had only met the woman who was now in charge of Avalon once, but she genuinely liked her.   
  
She started the letter to Remus, but she spent much more time writing to him. She smiled as she thought of the summer he had spent with her in Greece. She had been so young, only 17. Although most of the world would have considered her to be a child she had already been a fully initiated priestess for four years. And Remus had treated her as such.

She had fallen in love with him. In a world where women were not taught to rely on men Remus had been her shoulder to cry on. He was the only man she had ever fully trusted. She hadn't ever felt that kind of love for the father of her child. But that thought only brought about bad memories.   
  
She tied up both of the finished letters with a length of blue ribbon then moved to the window and gave a long low whistle. After a moment there was a fluttering of wings and two grey seagulls flew in the window.   
  
"Hello darlings," Kalliope crooned to the two seagulls as they perched on the low bench. She bent over and deftly attached one letter to the leg of the seagull on the right, "take that to the lady Sianna and wait for a response." The seagull spread its wings and flew out the window, winging its way towards Avalon.   
  
"And you,"" she said as she tied the remaining letter to the other soft grey seagull, "take this to Remus Lupin at Hogwarts."   
  
The seagull made a sharp cawing noise as it moved in a circle on the low bench. It turned toward the window then back towards Kalliope.   
  
"I promise you won't freeze, it's not that cold there," she smiled as she picked up the bird and took it to the window, releasing it into the air.

* * *

Stefan doubled over in pain and fell to the floor. He had never known so much pain. He almost wished that they would get it over with and kill him, but the curse was finally lifted.   
  
"Enough, he is still weak." Draco sneered as he glared down at Stefan.   
  
"Few men can withstand crucio for that long sir..." Macnair dropped the curse as he looked to his leader.   
  
"When I want your opinion I will ask for it," Draco yelled as he gave a sharp kick to Stefan's ribs.

Stefan groaned as he rolled over. He tried to focus on something other than the pain. He told himself to think of Dierna, he had to get through this so he could get back to her.   
  
"Get up!" The look in Draco's eyes bridged on insanity.   
  
Stefan slowly pulled himself to his feet, trying to ignore the sharp pain the shot through his body. He grimaced as he straightened himself up to look Malfoy in the eye.   
  
"You are arrogant MacNeill, watch yourself, or you will end up facing pain on less then friendly terms." Malfoy's voice was hard and cold. "You can go."

Stefan nodded and stiffly walked out of the room. As soon as he was clear of the manor house he gripped the portkey in his pocket and was gone.   
  
"How much longer are we going to let him continue to report back to the Ministry?" Macnair asked Draco.   
  
"As long as it suits our purposes or until I get bored with him. Whichever comes first."

* * *

Dierna sat with her chin propped up by her hand as she stared into space. A slight smile played at her lips as she thought of Stefan. She closed her eyes as she envisioned him, she couldn't wait till they were together again.   
  
"Dierna," Nick didn't get a response. He sighed as he poked her in the side and tried again, "Dierna."   
  
"Hmmm?" Dierna turned to look at her friend.   
  
"Just thought you might want to try paying attention," Nick whispered, "your Dad was watching you."   
  
Dierna frowned and tried to turn her attention back to the lecture her Dad was giving on the use of unicorn horn in truth serums. She already knew most of the stuff he was telling them. She had raided his bookshelf on numerous occasions and had recently finished a book on this subject.   
  
She sighed and began absently doodling on her notes. She tried to swallow but her throat felt so raw. When she coughed she felt like it was being torn apart. The only thing that made her feel somewhat better was when Nick gently rubbed her back while he continued to take notes. She knew that she would never find another friend like him.   
  
Serena kicked her twin under the table and pushed her parchment closer to her. Dierna smiled when she saw that the corner of the parchment contained the beginnings of a game of tic-tac-toe. Dierna put an O in the upper right hand corner and waited for Serena to make her next move.   
  
They kept playing, waiting for class to be over. They forgot about taking notes as they became absorbed in the game.  
  
"Hey girls, we're supposed to be doing an assignment out of the book now, maybe you should try to look like your doing something productive."   
  
Serena arched an eyebrow in Nick's direction, "I can't believe you're telling us to work in class."   
  
"You're gonna wish you had listened to me in about five seconds." Nick shot back.   
  
"Why?" Serena looked at him quizzically, "oh, never mind..." she muttered as she saw her father coming towards them.   
  
Severus placed his hands on the table in the back of the room and leaned over his daughters menacingly, his voice was dangerously soft and silky, "I have told you two more times than I can count to pay attention in class. Anymore of this and you will be separated for the rest of the year. 20 points from Gryffindor and it will be detention the next time I have to tell you. Understood?"   
  
"Yes sir," Serena muttered.   
  
"Adelaide, is that clear?" Severus waited for his other daughter's response.   
  
Dierna met her father's glare unflinchingly, "perfectly clear, _professor_."   
  
"5 more points from Gryffindor for your cheek," Severus' tone dared her to say anything else. He turned on his heal and swept back to the front of the room.   
  
"Bloody hell..." Dierna muttered as she tried to turn her attention back to school work.   
  
"Real smooth girls," Nick whispered.   
  
"Shut up," Dierna and Serena said together.

* * *

Morgan smiled at her group of third years as they bent over their assignment. The bright airy tower room that served as her classroom had all the windows thrown open, letting in the brilliant afternoon sunlight and a soft breeze.   
  
The atmosphere of her classroom was far different from that of her husband's. The vivid colors and light room were a far cry from the stark drafty potions room in the dungeons. She also ran her classes much differently, though just as effectively.   
  
Morgan had seen the way her husband taught, and she honestly didn't know how he did it. How the man who was so gentle and caring with her could be so hard and cold in his classroom was beyond her. In some ways he was still a mystery to her, even after so many years of marriage.   
  
She shook off that thought as she continued to walk down the aisles of her classroom, watching her students work. She paused long enough to put a gentle hand on Nimue's shoulder and to smile at her daughter when she looked up.   
  
When the bell rang there was a dash for the door, Morgan fought back a smile as she remembered her own school days, "one moment everyone!"   
  
There was a chorus of groans.   
  
Morgan smiled, "read the next chapter and I want a short essay on the material, nothing too long, but please put some effort into it. Now you can go."

* * *

"Dierna, I would like a word with you."   
  
Dierna threw an icy glare at her father before turning to back to Serena and Nick, "don't wait for me; I'll see you guys at dinner." She sighed as she turned back around; she just really wanted to leave.   
  
"Put your bag down and come here for a minute," Severus moved back to his desk and waited for Dierna to follow him.   
  
Dierna dropped her bag on the ground and grudgingly followed her dad. She still didn't feel good and knew she was acting sulky but she didn't really care.   
  
Severus looked at his daughter for a long moment. He took her chin in his hand forcing her to look him in the eye. "Are you feeling alright?"   
  
"I'm fine," Dierna snapped back.   
  
Severus raised an eyebrow, his expression clearly showing that he didn't believe her, but he didn't press the issue. "We had a conversation before about you helping me with a project, are you still interested?"   
  
"Yes," she tried to pull away, but he only tightened his grip on her chin.   
  
"So, why are you acting so sulky young lady?"   
  
"No reason."   
  
Severus let go of her, "you're lying."   
  
"Am not," Dierna glowered at him.   
  
A smile played at the corner of Severus' mouth, she was trying so hard. "Get out of my classroom, but I want to talk to you later about the project you'll be helping me with."   
  
"Fine," Dierna turned on her heal and quickly left.   
  
Severus let himself smile as his daughter left. Her attitude was so much like his own.

* * *

Morgan was straightening up her classroom with her back to the door. She picked up a stack of essays and started reading them; she tuned the rest of the world out. She was so absorbed in her work that she jumped and nearly screamed when someone laid a hand on her shoulder. She quickly spun around, "damn you Sev! Don't ever do that again!"   
  
Severus smiled as he pushed a few wild strands of hair out of his wife's face, "I'm sorry."   
  
"No you're not," she glared at him.   
  
"You're right, will you forgive me anyways?"   
  
"Maybe..."  
  
"You're not even mad at me and you know it," Severus teased her as she continued to glower.   
  
Morgan raised her chin, assuming a regal look as she turned away from her husband crossing her arms over her chest. But when he landed a sharp slap to her backside she instantly spun back around, an angry retort on her lips, "Severus, don't you dare..."  
  
She was cut off when he covered her mouth with his own. "Don't what?" Severus spoke when he finally broke off the kiss.   
  
"Don't do that again," Morgan sounded slightly breathless as she leaned into her husband.   
  
"Why not?" Severus' tone was teasing again.   
  
"Because, I'll get even," Morgan narrowed her eyes at him.   
  
Severus chuckled softly as he leaned down to his wife's level, "I would probably enjoy that Mrs. Snape."   
  
Morgan hit her husband in the shoulder, "you're horrible."   
  
"And you love it."   
  
Morgan laughed as her husband enfolded her in his embrace again. She loved him so much. 


	25. Chapter 25

Kalliope paced through the airy halls of the temple. She couldn't expect the Lady Sianna or Remus to get her letters till tomorrow, which meant it would be at least another day after that till she got a response.   
  
She was also beginning to feel that perhaps she had acted in haste. She knew that as a senior priestess and chief oracle of the temple she could do pretty much as she pleased, but she wondered if she should have consulted with the head priestess.   
  
Sighing, she turned and headed towards the head priestess' quarters. The old woman most likely knew all that had happened already, it was a rather uncanny ability of hers, but Kalliope knew that the Lady Rheia would want to hear the story from her.   
  
Kalliope paused in front of the ornately carved door that led to the head priestess' rooms. She smoothed her hair and her robes, somehow the old woman always made her feel like a small child.   
  
"Lady Rheia is waiting for you," a young attendant priestess bowed to Kalliope.   
  
"Thank you Alexandra," Kalliope inclined her head to the younger woman. She pushed open the heavy wood door and entered the darkened room. Rheia was seated at one end on a low bench with a long green serpent twined around her shoulders.   
  
Kalliope made a gesture of reverence and bowed low to the woman before her, "you were expecting me mother, I hope I did not leave you waiting too long?"   
  
"Of course not child, I knew you would come when you were ready. Now come sit by me and tell me what is troubling you." The old woman smiled at her chief oracle through brilliant blue eyes set far back in her wizened face.   
  
Kalliope obediently knelt at Rheia's feet. She had always called the older woman "mother" for as long as she could remember. Her own mother had died before Kalliope took her first steps. Rheia was mother to all of the priestesses in her temple, she had been there longer than any of them could remember, and longer than any of the written records recorded. Kalliope knew for a fact that Rheia was at least several hundred years old if not several thousand years old. She wondered how the woman did it.   
  
"Your mind is wandering child; my age is not of importance to the task at hand."   
  
Kalliope shook her head and smiled, "must you always read my thoughts mother?"   
  
"No, but with such a young child as you it is easy."   
  
Kalliope laughed, "I have lived more than thirty years and you still think of me as a child."   
  
Rheia smiled, "when someone lives for as long as I have everyone seems like a child."   
  
"And exactly how long is that?"   
  
Rheia closed her eyes and stroked the head of the green serpent, she laughed softly, "I'm not really sure anymore. The only time reference I can think of that might give you a clue is my first memory. I remember your kinswoman playing with me in this very temple after she fled Agamemnon's home, lucky thing for her that his wife was also a priestess and saw fit to let her be. You remind me of Kassandra, she was a talented priestess, and a great oracle."   
  
"You flatter me mother."   
  
"Nonsense, I only give praise where it is deserved and you know it. Now, we have digressed even further off topic. Why did you feel that it was necessary to contact Sianna and that man you insist on corresponding with?"

* * *

Dierna dragged her feet as she trudged down the long corridor. Quidditch practice had been very intense; she was convinced that Nick was trying to run the team into the ground. He really wanted to win this year.   
  
At least detention hadn't been that bad. Even though she had taken the time to shower and change after practice, which made her late, Professor Lupin had been really nice about the whole situation. He had even left her go after only an hour and a half.   
  
Now she just felt sick and tired. She had stopped by the Gryffindor common room, but she just didn't feel like hanging out with her friends tonight. Especially since Kamen and William had a pretty serious drinking game in full swing already. She just wanted to go someplace quiet. This was why she was now standing in front of the door to her parents' rooms.   
  
Dierna didn't bother with knocking, she simply removed the wards that protected the entrance and went in. Her mother wasn't anywhere to be seen, which caused Dierna to sigh. Her mother could always make her feel better.   
  
However, her father was sitting on the couch reading. Provided he was in a good mood he wouldn't mind her hanging around for awhile. She crossed the room and sat down next to him.   
  
Severus didn't look up from his book when his daughter sat down next to him, but he slid an arm around her shoulders. "Anything wrong?"   
  
Dierna didn't respond, but she leaned her head against his shoulder and moved the book he was reading closer so that she could see it. She smiled, it was Le Morte D'Arthur one of her favorites.   
  
Severus handed the book to his daughter and let her read for a few minutes while he watched her. He tightened the arm around her shoulders, "Is there a reason why you have insisted on feeling miserable all day instead of simply going to the hospital ward?"   
  
"I'm not sick," Dierna replied moodily.   
  
Severus pushed the hair out of her face, trying hard not to smile at his daughter's sulky expression. When she was sick she always acted like this. He laid a cool hand against her forehead, "If you're not sick then why do you have a fever?"

* * *

Rheia closed her eyes and stroked the head of the green serpent, she laughed softly, "I'm not really sure anymore. The only time reference I can think of that might give you a clue is my first memory. I remember your kinswoman playing with me in this very temple after she fled Agamemnon's home, lucky thing she did too, otherwise that horrid wife of his would have taken her head too. You remind me of Kassandra, she was a talented priestess, and a great oracle."   
  
"You flatter me mother."   
  
"Nonsense, I only give praise where it is deserved and you know it. Now, we have digressed even further off topic. Why did you feel that it was necessary to contact Sianna and that man you insist on corresponding with?"   
  
Kalliope took a moment to bring herself back to the present. She hadn't realized that Rheia was as old as that. But she knew that she had to focus, "I wish you wouldn't refer to Remus as 'that man'. He is a talented wizard and he provided much needed help to us during our time of need."   
  
"I won't argue with that child, but he is after all only a man. I have seen more war and destruction in my lifetime than you ever will. All of it caused by men. I've witnessed rape and pillage and murder. Your own heart was ripped to shreds by a man; I don't understand why you still insist on finding good in them. They do have their uses, but do not lose your heart. A man destroyed your life once my child, I do not want to see that happen again."   
  
"I understand your point mother, but Remus was there for me after... after..."  
  
"So, you continue to claim that you are fine my child, and yet you cannot name that which nearly killed you. You are a priestess, stand up to your fears!" There was fire in the old priestess' words.   
  
Kalliope swallowed her own anger. "My child was murdered and Remus was there for me, he holds a special place in my heart."   
  
"As well he should," Rheia stroked the younger woman's hair, "but why must he be informed about the visions of our priestesses?"   
  
"Because, it was wizards from his part of the world that attacked us then and the visions are telling us that it is the same men who are gathering now. He is in a position to save lives; you know that the wizarding world won't always listen to us."   
  
"That is true enough, but I think you still have personal motives. The one you hate was in the visions wasn't he." It wasn't a question.   
  
"Yes he was," Kalliope clenched her teeth as she thought of Draco Malfoy; she wanted nothing more than to see him dead.   
  
"And why do you want this man to die?" Rheia questioned with her usual disarming ability of telling exactly what the other person was thinking.

* * *

Severus pushed the hair out of her face, trying hard not to smile at his daughter's sulky expression. When she was sick she always acted like this. He laid a cool hand against her forehead, "If you're not sick then why do you have a fever?"  
  
"I'm fine," but Dierna sounded much less convincing now, even to herself.   
  
"No you're not. Stay right there," Severus commanded as he got up. He returned a minute later with a mug of tea and a vial of something purple.   
  
"What's that?" Dierna asked.   
  
"Something to make you feel better," Severus handed her the mug and then uncorked the vial he was holding and poured the contents into the tea. "Drink all of that."   
  
Dierna raised the mug to her lips and took a small sip. She made a face, "it's bitter."   
  
"I know, but you are going to drink it anyways," Severus crossed his arms over his chest and used his sternest expression.   
  
Dierna rolled her eyes, "fine..." She finished the tea but made it very clear exactly what she thought of it.   
  
Severus raised an eyebrow as he took the mug from her and set it on the end table, "was it really that bad?"   
  
"Yes," Dierna pouted.   
  
Severus sat back down and allowed his daughter to embrace him, even going so far as to wrap an arm around her in return, "at least you'll feel better."   
  
"I'm not sure if it will be worth it," Dierna frowned, "especially since you're perfectly capable of making something like that taste better. But you could make it up to me..." Dierna smiled sweetly.   
  
"I could? And what exactly is it that you want?"   
  
"Rub my back?"   
  
"Fine." Severus waited while his daughter repositioned herself. She laid a pillow on his lap and then laid her head on it, stretching out on the couch. Severus picked up his book from where it had been discarded on the end table and held it in one hand while he rubbed his daughter's back with his other hand.   
  
"Daddy?"   
  
"What?" Severus almost smiled; she had stopped calling him 'daddy' when she was about seven unless she was sick or really tired. And right now he would say that she was both.   
  
"Can I stay here tonight?"   
  
"Of course."

* * *

"And why do you want this man to die?" Rheia questioned with her usual disarming ability of telling exactly what the other person was thinking.   
  
"Because he killed my daughter."   
  
"Do not let your emotions control you child, the goddess will deal with him as She sees fit."   
  
"But..."  
  
"Child, listen to the advice of someone who has served the goddess for many centuries, She will deal with those who defy her in her own time and in her own way. You need to focus on your duties as the head oracle of this temple."   
  
"I feel like I should be doing something."   
  
"You are child; you are a valuable asset to this temple. However, if things continue the way they are I will give you leave to go to Britain."   
  
"Thank you mother..." Kalliope was cut off by sounds of yelling coming from the entry way. She reached for the knife that she kept belted to her waist, prepared to defend the head priestess to the death if necessary, and rose to her feet as the doors were thrown open.

* * *

"How long has she been out?"   
  
Severus looked up at his wife as she entered the room, "about an hour."   
  
"She's usually as restless a sleeper as I am and as light as sleeper as you are, what in the world did you give her to knock her out like that?" Morgan leaned down to kiss her husband on the cheek.   
  
Severus smiled as his wife's soft lips brushed his cheek, "nothing much, just something to make her sleep and bring down her fever."   
  
Morgan grinned, "You're so wonderful. Now, do you think you can get up without disturbing her or am I going to have to sleep alone tonight?"   
  
"Do you think I would really let you sleep alone?"   
  
Morgan chewed on her bottom lip, "I was hoping that would be your answer."   
  
Severus gently lifted Dierna's head out of his lap and stood up. He picked up a blanket and tucked it around her.   
  
"You want to move her into the spare bedroom or leave her out here?"   
  
"She'll be fine on the couch," Severus replied.   
  
"Well then why don't you join me in our bedroom professor, I would love to spend some... quality... time with you," Morgan's look was mischievous.   
  
Severus grabbed his wife and pulled her into his embrace, "I like the sound of that," he purred into her ear, his voice deep and silky.   
  
Morgan giggled softly as she released herself from his embrace and moved toward the door to their bedroom. She was very much aware of the look of hunger in her husband's eyes as he followed her.

* * *

Viviane held Stefan's hand as he moved in his sleep. She could tell that he was experiencing horrible nightmares, but she was afraid to wake him up. She laid a cool hand against his forehead; her movements were gentle and caring.   
  
She felt real affection for the man who had claimed her little sister's heart. They had really bonded in the past weeks. Mainly because they both missed the ones they loved. She sighed, they had been working on this project for so long, and yet they didn't seem to be making any progress. It seemed as though Malfoy and Macnair were just leading them around in circles.   
  
"Shhhhh... it's alright Stefan, they can't hurt you here," she murmured in soothing tones as he continued to thrash about in his sleep. She smoothed his hair and whispered to him. She knew that he had been tortured yet again at the hands of Malfoy and Macnair. She wasn't surprised that he came back and had nightmares like this.   
  
"Hold on just a little longer MacNeill, I'll get you back to my little sister yet," but Viviane wondered how true that was. It was already late October and the mission showed no signs of being close to finished.

Stefan sat up quickly, his breathing was hard, "Dierna!" His voice was strangled and he blinked furiously, trying to remember where he was.   
  
"It's alright Stefan, calm down," Viviane sat down on the bed next to him.   
  
Stefan buried his face in his hands, "I'm so afraid that they will hurt her to get to me. I can stand being tortured but the dreams of them torturing her are too much."   
  
"You'll get through this Stefan, we all will."   
  
"Thanks Viv," Stefan wrapped his arms around the slight frame of the woman sitting next to him.   
  
"All we have to do is survive one day at a time, you'll be with Dierna again before you know it," Viviane hugged him back as she thought of her Colin.

* * *

"Come on Dierna, hurry up!"   
  
Dierna mumbled something unintelligible and snuggled further under the covers of her bed.   
  
"You're not going to get to go if you don't get up." Serena threw a pillow at her sister as she spoke.   
  
"Maybe I don't want to get up!" Dierna threw the pillow back at her twin as she groggily sat up.   
  
"Well you won't get to go to Hogsmead if you don't get up."   
  
"Bloody hell..." Dierna muttered as she practically feel out of bed as she struggled to get up, "I'm coming, just give me some time."

* * *

Kalliope walked down by the beach. The last few weeks had been anything but pleasant and it had her worried. It had all started with the unexpected arrival of Cadmus when he had burst into the head priestess' quarters several weeks ago. The hulking man had laughed at the sight of Kalliope clutching her knife ready to defend Rheia should she need to.   
  
Cadmus was the leader of a group of warriors that kept the old ways and still wandered up and down the coastal plain, living a nomadic life. They were a magic people, but they defied all customs.   
  
Kalliope sighed; the presence of men in the temple had greatly disrupted everyday life. She knew that many of the priestesses had taken Cadmus' men to their beds, but she definitely was not one of them.   
  
This brought her to another problem, one that she was not looking forward to dealing with. Sophia had taken to spending a great deal of time in the men's camp. Although the girl had done nothing wrong yet she was a sworn virgin of the goddess until the time that she took vows as a priestess. Kalliope had been ordered by Rheia to take care of the situation.   
  
She bent down to pick up a small pink shell which she flung into the brilliant blue sea. Her young charge had become quite enamored with a certain young man from Cadmus' tribe. Kalliope wasn't overly surprised, especially since the girl had had very little contact with men before this. But the young girl could not be risked. As distasteful as it sounded, even to Kalliope who had spent her whole life in the temple and was well aware of the customs, Sophia's worth as a temple servant was measured by her virginity.   
  
Kalliope knew that she either had to convince her ward to stay away from the men, or she would be sent away until the warriors were gone.   
  
She sighed again; she had written to Remus that morning and had poured out her troubles to him. They had shared many letters recently, talking about anything from the threat of Malfoy and his recruits to more personal details of their lives. Kalliope longed to see the werewolf again. His affliction, which he was so conscientious of, meant nothing to her.   
  
Kalliope absently kicked at the sand, but spun around when she noticed a dark shadow approaching from behind her, her hand going to the knife at her waist.   
  
"Easy there girl," a deep voice said as a large hand gripped her wrist, forcing her to drop the blade.   
  
"Let go of me Cadmus," Kalliope hissed.   
  
"Of course Lady," Cadmus released his grip on her and bowed low, "I have no wish to quarrel with you or your goddess."   
  
"Then you had best keep your distance from me."   
  
"Come now girl, I don't like this hostility. Your fellow priestesses have spent many a night in the tents of my men, why don't you come warm my bed tonight? I only want to improve relations between us."   
  
"I most certainly will not."   
  
Cadmus smiled, his white teeth flashing against his darkly tanned skin, "Then I won't ask you again, but the invitation stands."   
  
Kalliope snorted, "Don't count on me showing up at your tent, I don't play those games."   
  
"You did once."   
  
"And you can clearly see where it got me," Kalliope stared out at the brilliant blue sea, she felt the waves wash over her feet. The sea seemed so... clean... compared to the rest of her life.   
  
Cadmus rested a hand on Kalliope's shoulder, "I am not old enough to be your father and even if I were I know you priestesses have little respect for men, but I am going to try and give you some advice anyways. I know you loved your little daughter a great deal, but that little girl you've been looking after who keeps coming down to our tents is as much your own as the one that lays buried under the sands. Give up the bitterness girl."   
  
"Don't tell me how to live my life."   
  
"I wouldn't dream of it Lady."   
  
Kalliope grinned, "If this was all a ploy to get me in bed with you..."  
  
Cadmus threw back his head a laughed, "I know better than to try a trick like that with a priestess. I've had one to many curses thrown at me for trying to seduce one of you into my bed." 


	26. Chapter 26

Nimue gripped the edges on the sink, her knuckles turning white from the how tightly she clung to it. There was a deep throbbing in her head; she knew it meant that another vision was coming  
  
Nimue fought back tears as the pain increased. She had promised Dierna that she would tell their parents about the visions, but she kept putting it off. She wondered what would happen if the visions kept coming. Would she eventually go crazy from the intense pain and the nervous nightmares they brought about?   
  
She gritted her teeth as the world around her went black and then the vision hit. She let out a gasp at the intense pain that accompanied the vision, it had never hurt this bad before.   
  
She didn't recognize the location she was seeing as the vision took hold, but there was a long dark corridor lined with cells. Something in the back of her mind recognized it as a prison.   
  
The perspective of the vision turned slightly so that she could see inside one of the cells. She gasped, or thought she did, she could never tell what was really happening when the visions came. The man in the cell had deathly white skin and red eyes.   
  
A shiver of terror ran up her spine. The man's blood red eyes seem to penetrate her soul. She wondered if he could see her, but didn't know if that was possible.   
  
There were footsteps coming down the corridor and the vision shifted again. Nimue saw a group of cloaked figures approaching the cell that held the red-eyed man, their wands drawn.   
  
There was a whispered consultation among the cloaked figures of which she only caught phrases. But she gathered that the guards had been temporarily disposed of.   
  
One of the dark figures deftly opened the cell, "you are free my lord, we will take you someplace safe." And then in a loud voice he proclaimed, "Lord Voldemort has returned!"   
  
Nimue staggered as the world around her shifted again as the vision ended. She fell to the ground as tears flooded her eyes. What could she do now?

* * *

Dierna glared at her Serena and Nick who were teasing her about how tired she still looked, "both of you need to shut up!" She snapped at them.   
  
Nick grinned wickedly, "that's not a very nice way to treat us Dierna, you really should try harder to be nice."   
  
"I don't have to be nice in the mornings!" She whined, "leave me alone Nick or I'm going to make you sorry," she muttered the threat.   
  
Nick made a clucking noise as he leaned closer to Dierna, "your attitude is appalling, I'm just trying to be nice and cheer you up and you throw empty threats at me. What you need is a good spanking."   
  
Dierna narrowed her eyes at her friend before turning away from him. She was going to just ignore him if he was going to try and bait her like that.   
  
Serena lightly punched Nick in the arm, "it's not working, she's only going to get madder at you."   
  
Nick rolled his eyes and made a comment about red heads and their horrible tempers before he moved towards Dierna, who had retreated several yards away from him. "Come on hon, I didn't mean it. Forgive me?" He wrapped his arms around her.   
  
"You're really horrible sometimes Nick."   
  
"I know, I should have learned by now not to tease you in the mornings. Now just forgive me so that we can have a good time at Hogsmead, it is Halloween after all. Think of all the trouble we can cause today."   
  
Dierna smiled, "fine, but you better be nice for the rest of the day or I will hex you."   
  
Nick laughed, "You know I can't promise to be nice all day, but I'll try."   
  
Serena joined them, "come on guys, the carriages are here."   
  
The three friends moved outside and climbed into one of the carriages together. Dierna managed to wake up a bit more and the ride ended up being rather entertaining. Nick teased both girls unmercifully the entire time and received threats from both of them.   
  
When the got to Hogsmead Nick asked the girls what they wanted to do first.   
  
"Well actually, I'm going to spend the day with Mark. You'll cover for me in case Mum or Dad asks where I am?" Serena asked.   
  
"Of course," Dierna replied. "Hey Nimue," she grabbed her sibling who was standing nearby, "is everything ok?"   
  
Nimue shrugged, "I guess so." She was scared to tell her sister about the vision she had had this morning. She knew that she would make her tell their parents, and it would probably ruin the day for both of them.   
  
"Alright..." Dierna looked skeptical. "Are you going off with Ophelia or do you want to come with us?"   
  
"I'm going to go with Ophelia and some of the other girls from the dorm."   
  
"Just don't go off by yourself, Dad will flip. Trust me, I know from personal experience," Dierna winked at her sister.   
  
Nimue smiled, "I won't," and she rushed off to go find Ophelia.   
  
Kalliope walked back towards the warriors' camp with Cadmus. The large man was actually pretty good company, as long as he wasn't trying to get her in bed.   
  
"So, why exactly doesn't the venerable Rheia approve of Scamander?" He asked referring to the young man Sophia and become enraptured with. Kalliope had explained the situation to him as they walked.   
  
"You should know the reason to that Cadmus."   
  
Cadmus brought a hand up and stroked his dark beard thoughtfully, "this is about his father, isn't it."   
  
"Of course."   
  
"It was his father that raped a priestess, not the boy. He shouldn't have to suffer because of a crime he didn't commit."   
  
"You know the rules of the temple," Kalliope shook her head; "there is no way he will be accepted by the priestesses."   
  
"I would vouch for his honor, I do try and impress upon my men the fact that they should never take a priestess against her will, you throw too many damn curses our way when that happens." Cadmus looked grave.   
  
Kalliope snorted indelicately, "yes, you try and respect the priestesses but you do as you please with any other women you come upon."   
  
Cadmus flashed a white toothy smile, "that is one of the benefits of a wandering life."   
  
Kalliope shook her head, "Lady Rheia is right, you have way too much _metis_ for your own good."   
  
Cadmus laughed, "Well that would make sense since my ancestors are from Ithaca, I may actually be descended from Odysseus himself," he winked at the priestess. "Now wouldn't you like to bed with a descendent of royalty?"   
  
"Not hardly," Kalliope glared at him, "especially since your ancestors destroyed the city of my ancestors."   
  
Cadmus grinned, "Point taken."   
  
As they approached the men's camp Kalliope looked around for her charge. After a few moments she spotted her, with Scamander of course, outside one of the tents. "She better agree to come with me without making a scene," Kalliope muttered.   
  
Cadmus shrugged, "I was under the impression that you were acting as her mother; make her come with you no matter how much of a fuss she may put up."   
  
"That's the problem, I am essentially her mother, but I am also a senior priestess in the temple. I should be able to expect respect from her; however I haven't been getting it recently." She frowned.   
  
"She is 15, what else do you expect?"   
  
"At 15 I was an initiated priestess..."  
  
"And you had a child conceived under less than perfect circumstances," Cadmus finished for her. "Do not blame Scamander for the crimes of his father, they are two different people, no matter how much you hate his father please remember that."   
  
"I do hate his father, but I loved the little girl he gave me."   
  
Cadmus took Kalliope's hand in his own, "I understand that you don't want to see the same thing happen to Sophia. You just have to trust in your goddess and I'm sure everything will come out alright little one."

* * *

Dierna scuffed her feet on the ground and kicked a rock. "Why did she go off with Mark? I don't mind covering for her but I we used to do everything together and..."

"And ever since you started going out with Stefan you started doing things apart." Nick finished for her.   
  
"Do I sound like a jealous whiney brat?" Dierna asked.   
  
"A little," Nick slid an arm around her waist, "but I understand. I have this urge to flatten any guy that comes after you girls. You two are mine as far as I'm concerned."   
  
Dierna smiled, "well, since I'm your girl I think you should buy me a butterbeer."   
  
Nick laughed, "very charming Dierna, you really know how to drop a subtle hint don't you?"   
  
"You know subtle is not my thing," Dierna smiled as she slid her arm around Nick's waist and leaned against him. "You keep saying that you are looking out for me while Stefan is gone and Stefan would buy me a drink, so..."  
  
"Alright, alright, point taken," Nick rolled his eyes. "I'm way too good to you."   
  
"But only because I deserve it," Dierna replied saucily.

* * *

"How did I get dragged into this? I hate chaperoning these trips." Severus complained as he walked with Morgan.   
  
Morgan smiled as she playfully smacked her husband on the arm, "stop complaining, someone has to do this." She tried to hold back laughter at the dour expression on his face.   
  
"So, you find this amusing Mrs. Snape?"   
  
Morgan brought a hand up to her face to try and cover her smile, "maybe..."  
  
"Just maybe? I think you're lying."   
  
"I'm hurt that you think I'm lying professor," Morgan worked hard to keep the amusement out of her voice, but failed miserably.   
  
"You are lying you little imp," Severus wrapped an arm around his wife's waist and pulled her close to him.   
  
"What are you going to do about it?" Morgan asked mischievously.   
  
Severus leaned down to his wife's level, which was rather a long way to do considering how tiny she was, "nothing here, however you will be in a lot of trouble when we get back, I don't like being lied to."   
  
Morgan giggled at the implications of what her husband was suggesting. "I'm not sure if I should be worried or not about what that means."   
  
Severus smiled at his wife, something he did rarely in public, since he insisted on keeping up the stern professor façade. "I'll just let you worry about it until we get back, that should give you something to think about the next time you try and lie to me," his voice was teasing.   
  
Morgan giggled again as she leaned into her husband, enjoying the way his protective arm felt around her. She shivered slightly in the cold breeze, the temperature had definitely dropped since they had arrived, and she was thankful for the warmth of his embrace.   
  
Severus pulled his wife closer to him when he felt her shiver. "I think I need to get you inside somewhere before you get too cold."   
  
Morgan smiled to herself; her husband was always so considerate of her. He always looked after her, and she loved it.   
  
"How about we get something to drink," Severus said as he steered her towards Madame Rosmerta's. "I'm thinking something a little bit stronger than butterbeer, as long as you think that would be appropriate. Damn chaperoning responsibilities..."  
  
Morgan smiled, "I promise I won't tell if you don't," she winked at her husband.   
  
"Hmmm... I remember that tactic not working to well for you once before darling."   
  
"Come on Sev, don't go bringing up stories from my wayward youth again," Morgan rolled her eyes.   
  
"And why not?" Severus smiled down at her, "I remember one incident in particular in your 7th year..."  
  
"Oh please don't bring up that one," Morgan brought a hand up to her cheek, she could feel herself blushing furiously.   
  
Severus grinned, "You always were a very entertaining drunk..."

Morgan groaned, he always teased her bringing up stories like that. She frowned at him when she caught him smiling at her.   
  
When they reached Madame Rosmerta's Severus held the door open for his wife and followed her inside. He seated her at a table towards the back before getting drinks for both of them. He was looking forward to a long afternoon spent just with his wife.

* * *

Nimue tried to push memories of her vision out of her mind as she and Ophelia and the other girls. Everyone else was chatting happily without any cares, Nimue felt isolated.   
  
Ophelia sensed that something was bothering her best friend, "hey guys, why don't you go ahead, me and Nimue will catch up with you later."   
  
The other girls went ahead and Ophelia turned to her friend, "what's wrong hon? You've been quiet all day; actually you've been really quiet and withdrawn the last few weeks."   
  
Nimue shrugged, "I don't know."

"What aren't you telling me Nimue?! We're best friends, we're supposed to tell each other everything and I know you're keeping secrets from me."   
  
"I don't know what it is, just so many things seem to be happening," Nimue was close to tears.   
  
"You can trust me Nimue, that's what friends are for."   
  
Nimue sniffed and ran the back of her hand across her eyes, "we need to find someplace to talk."   
  
"Alright," the two girls headed into town talking the whole way. Nimue started talking, and everything came out. She told her friend about all the visions she had, and the nightmares. The words tumbled over one another and once she started everything seemed to come out.   
  
"Oh Nimue," Ophelia exclaimed, "Why didn't you tell me all of this earlier. You didn't have to suffer through all of this alone; I would have been there for you." There were tears in Ophelia's eyes now too.

"Thank you Ophelia," the two girls hugged as tears streamed down their faces. "Do you think the visions are really real," Nimue asked between her tears.   
  
"Of course I do," Ophelia replied, "Oh Nimue, you need to tell someone else about this, I don't know what to do for you. Please promise me that you'll talk to your parents or Lupin or someone when we get back to the school, I'll even go with you if you want."   
  
"Ok," Nimue sniffed, "I promise I'll tell my parents as soon as we get back to the school.   
  
Dierna and Nick wandered around town. They made a long stop in the quidditch supply shop, but other than that they looked at nothing in particular. They just talked and Dierna began to feel a little better about Serena going off with Mark.   
  
Nick pushed Dierna lightly, just enough to send her staggering a few steps, "have you heard from Stefan at all?"  
  
Dierna sighed, "just a couple of messages through Viviane, but nothing from him personally. I just want to see him again!"   
  
"I know you do doll," he gave her hand a squeeze, "any indication on when he might be coming home?"   
  
"No, I've heard nothing. Nothing Nick!!! I'm tired of waiting!"  
  
"Are you giving up on Stefan?"   
  
"Of course not!" Dierna sounded frustrated, "I would wait for him forever. I just... I just want him back."   
  
"I know what you mean, about being willing to wait for someone."   
  
Dierna poked Nick in the ribs, "you like someone don't you?"   
  
"Maybe..."  
  
"Come on Nick tell me!"   
  
Nick smiled, "no."   
  
"Yes."   
  
"No way."   
  
Dierna threw her arms around Nick, "come on, you're my best friend. Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me!!!"   
  
"Damn you're annoying!" Nick exclaimed as he tried to extract himself from Dierna's death grip.   
  
"I'll stop if you tell me," Dierna used her most coaxing and sweet voice.   
  
"Well..." Nick's resolve was beginning to break.   
  
"Will you tell me?"   
  
"Eventually..."  
  
"Please, I won't tell anyone else," Dierna looked at Nick expectantly.   
  
Nick leaned down to whisper in Dierna's ear. Dierna leaned in close to him expecting him to tell her. "I'm not telling," he whispered.   
  
Dierna howled in outrage, "that's not fair!"   
  
Nick laughed, "Deal with it," he replied as he pinched her.

* * *

Mark pulled Serena into an alley, "I think we can escape any unwanted notice back here," he said as he scanned the area.   
  
Serena clutched his hand, her breathing coming fast.   
  
Mark smiled down at her and cupping her face in his hands he kissed her hard. Serena took a couple of steps backward until her back was against a wall. Mark continued to kiss her and his hands moved down her body, touching and fondling.   
  
Serena sighed softly when Mark removed his mouth from hers. This felt so right. She wanted more, and was surprised that she didn't feel any guilt about the thoughts she was having. Mark just made her feel so good.   
  
"I love you," Mark said as he nuzzled her neck.   
  
Another sigh as Serena felt her pulse begin to race. Her mind wandered briefly, wondering if this is what Dierna felt when she was with Stefan. This feeling of absolute surrender and control at the same time.   
  
Serena wrapped her arms around Mark as he kissed her again. Her head was in the clouds and her heart was pounding, she loved this feeling. 


	27. Chapter 27

"Are we clear of the protections around the prison yet?"  
  
"Not yet," Macnair growled, "it's just a little further and then we will be safe."   
  
Stefan felt like he was going to be sick. The most feared wizard of all times was sitting across from him in what felt like an absolutely tiny boat. He couldn't help but notice the vacant look on Voldemort's face, and he shivered as he thought of the affects the dementor's kiss had.   
  
"You look a little squeamish MacNeill," Macnair said bitterly.   
  
Stefan ran a hand through his hair, thinking that he was going to have to shower more than once when he got back to the safe zone to try and erase all the traces of Azkaban off of him, "I just don't understand how... how..."  
  
"How we will be able to use someone who has been administered the dementor's kiss?"   
  
Stefan nodded, not trusting his own voice. This was probably the most dangerous situation he had ever been in.   
  
"There are ways; they are difficult, but effective."   
  
Stefan swallowed hard; he didn't particularly want to know what those ways were. P  
  
"Ahhhh... I believe we are far enough away now," Macnair pulled out a small glass bottle, "hands on everyone."   
  
The death eaters and Stefan all grabbed the bottle, and the portkey whisked them off into the blowing mist.

* * *

Severus wrapped an arm around his wife as she snuggled up against him. He took a sip of his drink and smiled at how pleasant her warm weight felt leaning against him.   
  
Morgan looked up at her husband, "I love you,"   
  
"And I love..." but Severus didn't get to finish his response.   
  
"Severus, Morgan! There's been an emergency," Professor Flitwick rushed up, squeaking excitedly.   
  
"What is it?" Severus was on his feet immediately as he sent a worried glance down in his wife's direction.   
  
"There was a break-in at Azkaban, Voldemort has escaped!" Flitwick was beside himself with anxiety.   
  
"Bloody..." Severus let lose a string of profanity, "how did it happen?"   
  
"No idea yet, but Minerva got an urgent message from the ministry. She wants all the students back at the school now."   
  
Severus gave a curt nod, "then we best start rounding them up, this could take awhile."   
  
Flitwick glanced around nervously, "Remus and Sirius are here, they are going to check off all the students' names as they get back on the carriages, the three of us are to round up any stragglers."   
  
Severus turned and offered Morgan his hand as she stood up, he took her chin in his hand, "do not go off too far, I want you to stay within the immediate area, I will check the outskirts of town for students, is that clear?"   
  
"Severus, I'm not a child..."  
  
"I know that Morgan, I just don't want you putting yourself in any unnecessary danger. Promise me you won't go too far by yourself."   
  
"I promise Sev."

* * *

Dierna shivered in the cold breeze, "why did we have to come so far Nick?"   
  
"Why did you have to leave your cloak at the school?" Nick shot back.   
  
Dierna chose not to respond to that. She turned away from Nick and frowned at what she saw, "I wonder why Dad is all the way out here..." she watched her father approaching.   
  
Severus felt an immense amount of relief when he found Dierna and Nick, but there was also a twinge of fear when he noticed that Serena wasn't with them. "You two need to go back to the carriages now, there is a... situation... and all the students are going back to the school."   
  
"But why..."  
  
"Do not question me now Dierna, this is serious. And where is your sister?"   
  
"Well...."  
  
Severus put his hands on his daughter's shoulders and looked her in the eye, "Tell me Dierna, I need to know where she is." There was a note of panic in his voice.   
  
Dierna looked at her father uncertainly, her resolve wavering. On one hand she had promised to cover for her sister, but she couldn't help but see the fear in her father's face. "Dad, I promised I wouldn't... I just can't..." she fought for the right words.   
  
Severus sighed; he knew that honesty on his part would probably be the only way to get an honest response from his daughter. "Dierna, Voldemort has been broken out of Azkaban, the Ministry is in the middle of a serious security breach. Right now there is no way to tell if the area is safe, now where is your sister?!" His voice rose at the end.   
  
Dierna flinched slightly and looked away, "She's with Mark, they were headed toward the south side of town last time I saw them."   
  
Severus nodded as his mind searched to put a face to Mark, but he didn't dwell on it. He had a feeling he would find out soon enough. He frowned when he noticed that his daughter was shivering in the icy wind, "and where is your cloak young lady?"   
  
"At school."   
  
"And why is it there?"   
  
"Because I didn't think it would be this cold," she replied miserably.   
  
"I think the key phrase there is that you didn't think," Severus looked stern.   
  
Dierna looked at the ground, very much aware that she was under her father's harsh scrutiny.   
  
"Here, it's a long walk back and you don't need to be half frozen by the time you get back to the school," Severus undid his own cloak and wrapped it around his daughter's shoulders. "Chin up," he commanded as he fastened the clips, settling it snuggly around her.   
  
"Thank you," Dierna mumbled as the soft fabric was folded around her. She was grateful for it as she felt warmer almost instantly.   
  
"Please get back to the carriages quickly, both of you," his gaze took in the two teens.

* * *

Serena sighed contentedly, "You're wonderful Mark," she murmured into his shoulder as he held her. She turned her face up for another kiss.   
  
Serena closed her eyes as Mark's mouth covered her own. His touch was so sweet, so gentle. When he pulled away she kept her arms tightly wrapped around him, "Oh Mark, you're so... oh no..."  
  
"What is it?" Mark turned around to look in the direction Serena was facing. He thought for a moment that his heart had stopped when he saw his irate potions master standing there watching them.

"Dad, let me explain..." Serena knew that she was in serious trouble; she just hoped that her dad might be compelled to listen to reason. And if not maybe her mother would talk around him.   
  
Severus tried to follow the advice Morgan always gave him about counting to ten, but it wasn't working. "Serena Rose, I don't want to hear your explanations right now! We're going back to the school now, and if I hear one word out of either of you," he paused making sure he had their complete attention, "you will regret it."   
  
Serena clutched Mark's hand as they followed her father out of the ally. All she could think about was how much trouble she was in. And it wasn't getting any better. At one point her dad turned around to make sure he was being obediently followed, under his sharp gaze Serena instantly dropped Mark's hand.   
  
They reached the edge of town where Remus and Sirius were waiting with the last two carriages. Severus approached his colleagues, his expression openly displaying his displeasure, "I think it would be best if Mark rode back with you two."  
  
"And why is that?" Remus asked, although from the look of things he had a good idea where this was heading.   
  
"Because I might be forced to castrate him if he spends anymore time in a close proximity to my daughter."   
  
Remus and Sirius shared a look, "I'm not sure if I've ever seen him this ticked off," Sirius muttered.   
  
"It's probably only going to get worse," Remus quietly answered back.

* * *

Serena entered the Gryffindor common room and felt a momentary wave of relief. She was safe from her father's wrath for the time being. But, she knew that would only last as long as he was busy with the other teachers enforcing the protections on the school and discussing other security measures.   
  
"Serena!" Dierna rushed up to her twin, "I'm so sorry, but Dad made me tell him where you were and I was scared about what had happened and I had to tell him, I really didn't mean to. Please don't be mad at me."   
  
Serena sighed, "Its ok. We knew he would find out eventually. But I am in a hell of a lot of trouble."   
  
While her siblings engaged in a frantic discussion, trying to figure out the best way to keep Serena out of as much trouble as possible, Nimue quietly slipped out of the portrait hole unnoticed. She made her way through the hallways; she felt a horribly guilty about what had happened today. If only she had told someone...  
  
"All students are to be in there common rooms, you're in for it now little Snape."   
  
Nimue jumped when Mr. Filch stepped out of a shadowy corridor, his bitter gaze trained on her. Tears filled her eyes, "please Mr. Filch, I need to find my parents, something happened..."  
  
"It can't be that serious that you need to be violating school rules, running around the halls. I think that warrants a detention." Filch smirked.   
  
The tears spilled over, "please, I need to see them now, it's an emergency."   
  
"There, there girl, now don't cry over it. I think they're still in the staff room, I'll walk you up." Filch had a soft spot in his icy heart for the youngest of the Snape children. And her tears affected him more than he would ever admit.   
  
"Thank you," Nimue sniffed as they turned the corridor and paused in front of the door to the staff room.   
  
"No more wandering the halls or you'll be facing a month of detention," Filch growled roughly. He opened the door to the staff room, "Ah, Severus, found someone looking for you," he spoke with a hint of respect in his voice as he addressed the potions master, pushing Nimue into the room with his free hand.   
  
Severus nodded to Argus as he moved towards his youngest, her tear stained face worried him. "What is wrong?" he leaned down to get closer to her level.  
  
"It's all my fault," Nimue sobbed out, "I knew it would happen, I saw it, but I didn't tell anyone. I could have stopped it!"   
  
"What on earth are you talking about child?" Severus asked as he led her to a chair.   
  
"I saw the break in at Azkaban this morning, if I had told someone it might have been stopped!"   
  
"Nimue, please slow down and tell me what you are talking about." Severus kept his voice deceptively calm as he tried to work through what his daughter was trying to tell him.   
  
Remus and Minerva, who were the only other two in the room, besides the Snapes, moved in a bit closer. Remus frowned, this all sounded familiar somehow...  
  
Nimue, through her tears, sobbed her way through her whole story. She told them about all of her visions and what she had seen that morning. "Don't you see it's my fault!" she was reaching hysterics, "I knew what was going to happen and I didn't tell anyone."   
  
"Shhhhh.... It's not your fault child," Severus held Nimue close to him as he shared a worried look with Morgan. "Why didn't you tell us about this sooner?"   
  
"Because I was scared," Nimue sniffed.   
  
Remus had listened to Nimue's story about her visions with a quiet detachment. His thoughts flew to Kalliope. "I know someone who can probably explain everything behind Nimue's visions, and who can probably help her learn to handle them."  
  
Everyone in the room looked to him expectantly, "what exactly do you mean Remus?" Morgan asked quietly, "and what do you know about what is happening, can you explain her visions?" Morgan turned her gaze back to her daughter, who was trembling.   
  
Remus sighed and shook his head, "I don't know enough to explain it. But I have a friend, who is a priestess in Greece; she deals with this sort of thing on a daily basis. I'm sure she would be willing to help Nimue understand what is happening."   
  
Severus frowned, "Are you sure this friend can be trusted. I don't want to put my daughter in the hands of someone who would harm her."   
  
"It is perfectly safe Severus; I would trust this woman with my life."   
  
"I am just trying to think of what is best for my daughter Lupin," Severus growled.   
  
"And I think that this would be very helpful for Nimue," Remus responded calmly.  
  
"Would you stop talking about me as though I wasn't here?!" Nimue was still in tears, "I just want someone to tell me why this is happening." Her small frame trembled and the tears continued to pour down her face.   
  
"We will figure this out child, I promise," Severus gently pushed her down into a chair and knelt in front of her.   
  
"But I could have stopped it..."

"Nimue, listen to me, you will not blame yourself for this," there was a note of authority in Severus' voice.   
  
"But..."  
  
"Darling, this is in no way your fault. I just wish you would have told us sooner so that you wouldn't have suffered alone." Morgan gently brushed the hair out of her daughter's tear streaked face.   
  
"How soon can you get a hold of this priestess?" Severus turned back to face Remus.

* * *

Serena, Dierna, and Nick had taken over a corner of the common room. They huddled together in frantic consolation.   
  
"He's going to kill Mark and he's not going to let me go anywhere ever again," Serena groaned. "I am so dead."   
  
"It could be worse; he could have caught you having..."  
  
"Nick! That is not funny right now," Serena groaned.   
  
"Sorry, was just trying to lighten the mood," Nick gave her a weak smile.   
  
"Well don't," Dierna snapped at him. "Serena, maybe if Mum talks to him first..."  
  
"Ok, that would maybe stop him from killing Mark, but that still wouldn't help me any." Serena was starting to get desperate. "Any other ideas?"   
  
"Ummm... cry, a lot. Tears can sometimes get you pretty far with Dad." Dierna tried to give her sister a reassuring look, but knew that this situation was beyond hopeless.   
  
"I don't think that will work this time," Serena chewed her bottom lip nervously.   
  
"Well you're about to find out little sister," Kamen came up, "Dad's waiting out in the hallway for you."   
  
"Oh no... Kamen, can't you tell him I'm sleeping or something, make up anything, please."   
  
"Sorry little sis, but he told me either I brought you out or he would come and get you. I really don't think you want him coming in here."   
  
"At least there would be witnesses when he kills me..." Serena mumbled.   
  
"Hey, I promise to give you a nice funeral," Kamen flashed her a lopsided grin.   
  
"That makes me feel so much better," Serena observed dryly as she got up.  
  
"Good luck," Dierna called after her as Serena made her way across the common room. She took a deep breath before exiting through the portrait hole. She gulped when she saw her father waiting for her, he did not look happy.   
  
"Come with me," Severus commanded.   
  
"How much trouble am I in?" Serena couldn't help asking, she swore her feet were glued to the floor. She was growing very nervous.   
  
Her father glared at her, "would you rather do this here or in the privacy of my office?"   
  
"Your office, sir," Serena mumbled. She really didn't want to risk having an audience for what was sure to follow.   
  
"Then be silent and come with me now," there was a deadly calm to Severus' voice. He set a brisk pace as he turned on his heel and headed down toward the dungeons, knowing full well that his daughter would follow him. He frowned as he thought about how to deal with this situation.   
  
He and Morgan tried to keep their roles as parents and teachers separate as far as their children were concerned. Morgan had reminded him of that, and since they decided to act purely as parents in this instance that meant detention was out of the running as a form of punishment.   
  
Severus had wanted to take Serena off the quidditch team; he felt that it was fitting since she had been lying to him and Morgan for months. He did not like the fact that she had been in a relationship behind their backs. But Morgan had stood up to him; she said that taking Serena off the quidditch team would also hurt their other children and the whole Gryffindor team. He had grudgingly agreed with her. But he still wasn't happy. 


	28. Chapter 28

* * *

Remus walked out of the gate and was outside the boundaries of Hogwarts. He had agreed that there was no time to waste in sending letters back and forth. He was going to apparate to Greece and talk to Kalliope immediately. He only hoped she would be willing to come back with him.

He took a deep breath and disapparated, reappearing on a wide expanse of beach on the Mediterranean. He took a quick look around to get his bearings. He smiled; the temple was on top of a hill only a short distance away.   
  
He enjoyed the peaceful walk to the temple. The soft sound of the surf and the warm sea breeze were very relaxing, and they reminded him of the last time he had been here. It seemed like so long ago...  
  
He stopped for a moment to take off his shoes; he remembered how good the warm sand had felt between his toes. When he started walking again, shoes in his hand, he smiled, there were so many memories connected with this place. But something was different. He noticed a camp set up further down the beach. After studying it for a few minutes as he continued to walk towards the temple he realized it must be one of the tribes.   
  
There were various magical tribes, often of a nomadic nature, that still lived along the coast. Most of them stopped at the temple throughout the year to pay homage to the goddess. Or in the case of the male tribes, to pay homage to the bodies of the priestesses.   
  
Things were different here. The temple and the people that worshipped at it were suspended in a different time. The way things operated hadn't changed in thousands of years. The priestesses still raised their voices in the same hymns of praise to their goddess, they still made the same offerings, they still trusted in a deity that had existed before the beginning of time. He loved their way of life; they had accepted him without questioning his condition. The only bias they had against him was that he was a man. He could live with that, as long as he could see Kalliope again.

* * *

The walk down to Severus' office was silent. Serena was too terrified to say anything and Severus was too busy trying to keep his temper in check. He was grateful that he had had a good deal of time to try and calm down. He wouldn't have wanted to deal with his daughter when he was still violently angry. But he was still upset, and extremely disappointed that she would go behind his and Morgan's backs.   
  
When they reached his office he removed the protection wards that were placed around the door and held it open. Serena timidly entered before him and stood nervously in the center of the room.   
  
"Do you have anything to say for yourself young lady?" Severus asked as he closed the door.   
  
"Dad, please don't blame Mark for any of this. It was my fault. I wanted to keep the relationship a secret from you and Mum. Please don't blame him." Serena looked at the floor, not daring to glance up at her father.   
  
"It most certainly is your fault. Now, what am I going to do with you?" Severus crossed his arms over his chest and waited for a response.   
  
"I don't know sir." Serena mumbled.

* * *

Remus was almost to the temple, he paused a moment to take in the beauty of the scene before him. The brilliant blue sky matched the brilliance of the sea, everything seemed so tranquil. He held a hand up to shield his eyes from the sun as he looked over the landscape. There were two figures approaching the temple from the other direction. He watched them as he came up alongside the temple; they obviously hadn't seen him yet. His breath caught in his throat and his heart seemed to skip a beat. It was Kalliope.   
  
She still hadn't seen him. He watched from the long shadows created by the temple. There was a girl with her, whom he guessed had to be a young priestess or a ward of the temple.   
  
He smiled to himself; his gentle, sweet tempered Kalliope was giving the younger girl quite a tongue lashing.  
  
"You will not go down to that camp again! That area is strictly off limits for you now Sophia, you are a sworn virgin of the goddess and I will not have you down there doing who knows what." Kalliope had been less the pleased when her charge had put up a fight about returning the temple. It had only taken a few words from Cadmus to send her into this enraged "mother" state.   
  
"Kalliope, you're not my mother! Stop treating me like this," Sophia indignantly wrenched her arm out of Kalliope's grasp.   
  
"You're right I'm not, but I am your guardian and a senior priestess, as a novice and a child you should show me a bit more respect than this." Kalliope put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot angrily against the dirt path. She wished the girl would just obey her and not fight back like this.   
  
Remus stepped out of the shadows, as amused as he was by the conversation he felt that he shouldn't be observing it. "Hello Kalliope."

* * *

"You're suspended from the quidditch team until after the next Gryffindor game," Severus looked down at his daughter.   
  
"WHAT?! You can't do that!"   
  
"I most certainly can young lady."   
  
Serena was furious, "that's not fair!"   
  
"Neither is your lack of honesty. It will be a long time before your mother and I feel that we can trust you again. Sneaking around behind our backs was not a wise decision on your part."   
  
"But Dad..."  
  
"There is no point in arguing with me, you're in enough trouble as it is."   
  
Serena decided to try Dierna's suggestion and try crying. Not that it took much effort on her part, she was already extremely upset. "Please Dad; don't suspend me from the quidditch team." She sniffed and let the tears flow.   
  
Severus had to force himself to harden his heart. The crying trick that his daughters pulled tended to be his downfall, but he was not going to let it get to him this time. "The tears won't work this time, I'm not changing my mind Serena. You're lucky I'm not taking you off the team entirely, which will happen if there are any more problems like this."   
  
"But I'm really sorry; I promise I won't do anything like that again. I'm sorry," Serena sniffed miserably.   
  
"That's not good enough, not this time."  
  
"But I promise..."  
  
"That is enough Serena!" Severus was beginning to lose his patience, "don't argue with me, not now. I can guarantee that you won't win and you'll just end up in a lot more trouble then you're already in."   
  
Serena tried to stop the tears, but she was too far gone now, and far too upset. It seemed like her relationship with Mark was ruined, but she clung to one feeble hope. Her father hadn't forbidden her from seeing him again; maybe they could still be a couple. She sank down into one of the chairs in front of her father's desk and buried her face in her hands as she continued to cry. None of this was fair!

* * *

Remus stepped out of the shadows, as amused as he was by the conversation he felt that he shouldn't be observing it. "Hello Kalliope."   
  
Kalliope spun around and her mouth fell open in surprise when she saw Remus, "by the goddess..." She ran at him and flung her arms around his neck, "Remus, is it really you?"   
  
"It certainly is," Remus smiled down into the deep brown eyes that were more than capable of melting his heart. "How are you?"   
  
"Well enough," Kalliope replied as she detached herself from him and straightened her loose robes. "It's been a long time..."  
  
"Too long." Remus smiled at the girl who was with Kalliope. She was standing directly behind the senior priestess, but was peering around the older woman in interest.   
  
Kalliope felt a tug on the sleeve of her robes and turned back to her young charge; she slipped an arm around the girl's shoulders and drew her forward. "Remus, this is Sophia, my ward and a novice at the temple. Sophia, this is Professor Remus Lupin, please treat him with more respect than you showed me earlier," she raised an eyebrow at the younger girl who blushed slightly at the reproof.   
  
Sophia observed the strange man with interest. He was obviously not from the area, and he certainly wasn't a tribesman. A thought crossed her mind and she tugged on Kalliope's sleeve again and stood on her toes to whisper in the woman's ear.   
  
Kalliope choked back a laugh, "no he's not," she said smiling good naturedly at her charge. "Now, get back to the temple and help tally the offerings, I will be up shortly."   
  
"Yes Lady," Sophia shot one more curious glance at Remus before she turned and headed back to the temple.   
  
"I'm not what?" Remus asked, he was confused.   
  
Kalliope smiled, "she thought you might be one of the immortal race."   
  
"I don't understand..." Remus was now completely lost.   
  
Kalliope laughed, it was a light sound that completely captivated Remus, "it's your name wizard. She thought you might have been one of the founders of Rome."   
  
Remus joined her laughter, "do I really look that old?"   
  
Kalliope shook her head, "of course not, but we do have our share of long-lived magic folk around here, it wouldn't be out of place."   
  
"I suppose it wouldn't, although that would make me about the same age as Rheia wouldn't it?"   
  
Kalliope laughed softly, "Not hardly, I finally got her to tell me how old she really is."   
  
"Really? How old is she? Sometimes I swear she's been around since time began."   
  
"Not quite, but close to it. To put it simply she told me that 'Menelaus really was a nice man, though a little blinded by his wife's beauty to do the right thing'."   
  
"You can't be serious?" Remus walked at Kalliope's side as they headed up towards the temple.   
  
"I am, and so was she. But I have a feeling you didn't come here to discuss this, why are you here wizard?"  
  
"Something has happened in the wizarding world, the dark one has escaped from prison."   
  
"That's horrible, has anyone been hurt?" Kalliope looked concerned.   
  
"Not yet, but that's not the real reason I'm here."   
  
"And what is the real reason."   
  
"One of the students at the school saw the escape in a vision."

* * *

Severus let Serena cry herself out. He wasn't in the mood to deal with her tears. When her tears quieted to the occasional sniff he walked over to her and took her chin in his hand, forcing her head up so that she would meet his eyes, "now, I want some truthful answers out of you. Has your relationship with Mark gone any farther than that somewhat distasteful display I observed in the ally in Hogsmead?"   
  
"No sir."   
  
Severus sighed with relief, "now, do you plan on continuing your relationship with him?"   
  
"I want to, but..."  
  
"But what?"   
  
"I didn't think you would let me," A few more tears ran down Serena's face.   
  
Severus closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, "Serena, your relationship with him does not bother me as much as the fact that you concealed it from me and your mother."   
  
"So I can keep seeing him?" There was a touch of excitement in Serena's voice.   
  
"I suppose..."  
  
"Thank you Dad!" Serena jumped out of the chair and flung her arms around her father. "But do I still have to be suspended from the quidditch team?" She pouted.   
  
"If the tears didn't work on me pouting most certainly won't," a slight smile played at Severus' mouth, "but remember, that suspension includes practices, not just the next game. I better not catch you down on the quidditch pitch until after the next game."   
  
"Fine... but I still don't think that's fair."   
  
"It doesn't matter what you think is fair. This is my decision not yours."

* * *

"Lady Kalliope!"   
  
Kalliope looked up at the temple where a young priestess was rushing down towards her, "What is it Alexandra?"   
  
"My Lady," she panted slightly, "Lady Rheia wants to see you and the wizard immediately,"  
  
Kalliope inclined her head slightly, "we will go to her now, thank you for the message."   
  
"How did she already know I was here?" Remus asked as he offered a steadying hand to Kalliope as they finished the assent up the narrow rocky path to the temple.   
  
Kalliope shrugged, "the same way she knows everything that goes on around here, she is a powerful priestess, she sees all."   
  
"And what about you, do you see all?"   
  
"If you mean did I know you were coming, then no. I may be the chief oracle here but the goddess does not show me everything, only that which I need to know."   
  
"I suppose it's not really something a man can understand."   
  
"That is true, the art of seeing requires a stronger connection with the earth than any man possesses," Kalliope shot a look at Remus when they reached the doors to Rheia's chambers. "I take it you remember the correct way to treat our head priestess?"   
  
"Of course."   
  
Kalliope opened the doors and entered the darkened rooms, Remus walking several paces behind her. Kalliope bowed her head in reverence to the Mother and Remus made a similar gesture.   
  
"Come closer children," Rheia beckoned to them, "time is short."   
  
"How can we serve you mother?" Kalliope asked.   
  
"You will go with the wizard back to the school; your knowledge and gift as an oracle are needed there."   
  
"Of course mother," Kalliope didn't waste time wondering how Rheia knew Remus had asked her to go back to Hogwarts with him. The old woman knew everything.  
  
"And you will take the child with you, without your supervision she would run right back down to the warrior's camp. I do not need to tell you how important it is that she does not continue her relationship with Scamander."   
  
"Yes mother, but do you think it is best to take her away from the temple?"   
  
"Do not question me child, you will take her with you. Perhaps the chance to see a culture in which men have more stature might make her more aware of her own background and the importance of her vows to the goddess."   
  
"I will obey you orders mother, I am sorry I questioned you," Kalliope kept her head lowered and eyes on the ground out of respect for Rheia's position.   
  
"Now then wizard, come closer," Rheia beckoned to Remus. She grasped his wrist in her bony hand, betraying a physical strength he did not expect to find in someone as old as her. "Watch over my priestess and her ward, I do not want any harm to befall them in your country."   
  
"I will do my best for them."   
  
"A man's best is often not enough, swear to me you will guard them."   
  
"I swear it."   
  
"Good," Rheia released his wrist, "now, Kalliope, go get yourself and your ward packed, you leave at dawn for Hogwarts." 


	29. Chapter 29

Serena entered the Gryffindor common room and wasn't surprised to see that Dierna, Kamen, and Nick were waiting for her.   
  
"How bad was it?" Dierna asked, she had bit off three of her fingernails while waiting for her sister to come back.   
  
"I'm suspended from the quidditch team."   
  
"What?!" Her three companions were shocked.   
  
"He can't do that!" Kamen growled.   
  
"I'm going to talk to Lupin about it, maybe he can do something," Nick was livid.   
  
"Would both of you shut up!" Dierna snapped at the two boys. She turned back to her twin, "How long are you off the team?"   
  
"Till after our next game," Serena replied bitterly.   
  
"Bloody hell... we're going to have to use a beater from the reserve team," Nick grumbled, "We're lucky our next game is against Hufflepuff, otherwise we would be thoroughly screwed."   
  
"I'm not even allowed to attend practices," Serena whined, "what am I supposed to do? I'm going to be worthless to you Nick by the time I'm allowed to play again."   
  
"You'll never be worthless to me. Don't worry, I would never give away your spot on the team," Nick put an arm around Serena's shoulders.   
  
"I just feel so useless now," Serena sniffed despondently.

* * *

"I made her take some dreamless sleep potion, she's been out for close to an hour," Morgan answered in response to her husband's question about the whereabouts of their youngest child.   
  
"Good, she needs her rest."   
  
"Severus, what is happening here? Why does our child have to suffer like this?"   
  
"I..." but Severus was cut off before he could answer.   
  
"It's not right! And how could she keep this from us? I understand that the visions scared her but at least she wouldn't have been suffering alone. I can't stand the thought of her going through that alone. This is horrible! She looks so pale and exhausted."   
  
Severus let his wife talk. She didn't really want him to respond, she just needed to vent for awhile. He poured himself a glass of brandy from a cut glass bottle and sank into a chair. He watched his wife as she furiously paced the room.   
  
"I just don't know what to do for her Sev. She's still scared and I don't know what to do to make it better. I feel like I'm failing in my role as a mother." Morgan sighed and buried her face in her hands.  
  
Severus jumped in when his wife finally stopped talking, "do not degrade yourself darling, there is nothing else for us to do right now. Remus went to try and contact this priestess of his; we just have to wait till he returns."   
  
"But I feel so useless right now Sev. Our daughter is upset and scared and I can't do anything for her," Morgan dissolved into tears.   
  
"It's alright darling, you're here for her and that's all that matters," Severus stood up and quickly crossed the room so that he could gather his wife in his arms. He held her against him as she cried.   
  
"Sev, what's happening?" Morgan choked out through her tears.   
  
"I don't have an answer for that, all we can do right now is wait," he kissed the top of his wife's head as he held her close. He laughed softly, but it was a mirthless sound, "I've certainly had to deal with more than my fair share of emotional women today."   
  
"I'm sorry Sev, I didn't mean to break down on you," Morgan sounded hurt.   
  
"I wasn't reproaching you darling, just making an observation," Severus pulled his wife down into his lap as sat down on the couch and kissed away her tears. "Feeling any better yet?"   
  
"A little," Morgan replied as she allowed her husband to cuddle her, "let me up a minute Sev."   
  
"Why?"   
  
"A letter came for you earlier, from Paris."

* * *

"Where are we going?" Sophia asked.   
  
"To a school in the north," Kalliope answered from where she stood by the open window.   
  
"Why?"   
  
"Because of some incidents that have happened in the area, I am needed there and Rheia wants you to go with me."   
  
"Is this just to get me away from Scamander?" Sophia sounded indignant.   
  
"Partly, but you are also in my care I can't just leave you behind. Besides, this trip will be a good learning experience for you."   
  
"Do you love him?"   
  
"What?" Kalliope looked at her ward in surprise.

"Do you love the wizard? You keep looking at him and stuff." Sophia played with rope belt that she wore as she looked at the older priestess.

"That is a ridiculous question; he is an old friend that I haven't seen in a long time."   
  
"Well I think you love him."   
  
"And I think that unless you start packing and stop asking me questions you're going to find yourself in trouble," Kalliope tweaked the girl's nose.   
  
"Don't do that," Sophia narrowed her eyes, "can I bring my snake?"   
  
"Yes, now start packing no more stalling."   
  
"But what about..."

"Pack!" Kalliope commanded, "Only your warmest robes and both of your cloaks, you won't need anything lightweight where we're going."   
  
"It's going to be cold there?!" Sophia's eyes widened.   
  
Kalliope laughed as she walked out of the room, "compared to here its going to feel very cold."

* * *

Stefan tried to stay as far away from Voldemort as possible. It didn't matter that the dark wizard's eyes were glazed over and that he was seemingly harmless now. Even after the dementor's kiss he looked terrifying. His red eyes and pale skin were definitely creepy.   
  
He observed the proceedings from a quiet corner. There were a lot of death eaters here. He tried to stay out of there way, he wanted to remain as anonymous as possible. This was getting incredibly dangerous.   
  
"How long will the process take?" Macnair asked Draco.   
  
"How should I know?!" Draco snarled, "I've never done this before. All I know is that the preparations will take at least a month."   
  
Stefan desperately wanted to know what preparations they were referring to, but he didn't want to draw attention to himself by asking. The last thing he needed right now was to arouse any suspicions.   
  
As soon as he could he slipped through the crowd and out of the manor house. He walked down the path a ways until he was out of sight, and then gripped the portkey in his pocket.   
  
Stefan stumbled as he arrived back in his room. After weeks, and now months, of traveling like this he still was thrown off his feet every time.   
  
"You alright?" Viviane asked as she gave him a hand up.   
  
"Except for my knees I am," Stefan winced as he got up and rubbed his knees, he had taken that fall a little harder than he normally did.   
  
"Do they have him? Do they have Voldemort?"   
  
"Yes."   
  
"And..." Viviane prompted.   
  
"And... they have something planned for him, but I don't know what."   
  
"What can they do with someone who has been issued the dementor's kiss?" Viviane asked.   
  
"I don't know, but it doesn't look good."

* * *

Kalliope carefully folded her few robes and cloaks and placed them in a basket. As a priestess she had very few possessions. She added a necklace of amber to the basket; it was the one piece of jewelry she owned. It had been a gift from Cadmus when she took her vows as a priestess.   
  
She smiled as she laid the necklace on top of her few possessions. She genuinely liked Cadmus. But she had never fawned over him the way most of the other priestesses did. She saw him as a friend or an older brother. She had lost her heart to someone else long ago.   
  
She sighed as she looked around her room. The only things remaining were a couple of summer shifts that were lying in another basket under the bed. It amazed her, her entire life fit into two baskets. She had so little to record the passage of the years and all that had happened to her.   
  
She had never traveled farther than a day's journey on foot from the temple before, this trip made her a bit nervous. She moved to the window and let the soft sea breeze wash over her, it carried on it the voices of the priestesses as the praised the goddess in song.   
  
_"Sing, O Muse, to the goddess Who brings sweet gifts to mortals, and whose lovely face Ever smiles radiant with lambent beauty on it. Hail goddess and mistress of all! Defender of cities and protector of armies Hail, O goddess, and grant us good fortune and happiness Delight in my song and I shall remember you again."_   
  
Kalliope raised her arms to the sky and entreated her deity, "Goddess, mother of all, I have offered you many libations and I have dedicated my life to you. You know me well; watch over me and Sophia as we travel far from our homeland. We travel with the man who owns my heart, please don't let him break it. Watch over us, and I shall remember you again."

* * *

Morgan slipped out of her husband's grasp and went to retrieve the letter which was on a table across the room. She handed the letter to Severus and didn't protest when he pulled her back down into his lap. She buried her face in his shoulder, "what does he have to say?"  
  
"Give me a minute to read it impatient one and I will tell you." Severus held his wife in one arm and scanned the letter, frowning.   
  
"Well?"   
  
"I'm still not done."   
  
"You read too slow."   
  
"Morgan..."   
  
"I'm sorry, I'll be quiet now."   
  
Severus smiled down at his wife then turned his attention back to the letter, "well, Eric claims to know exactly who has infiltrated the British Ministry of Magic and he says that he knows what they're planning to do with Voldemort."   
  
"He already knew that they got Voldemort out of Azkaban?"   
  
"Apparently, he claims to know all of their plans," Severus scanned the letter again. "That damnable fool..."  
  
"What?"   
  
Severus sighed, "He says if we want the information I have to come to Paris to get it from him personally."   
  
Morgan shifted in his arms so that she could look at her husband, "are you going to go?"   
  
"I don't really have a choice; we need the information that he has."   
  
"Then I'll go with you," Morgan pronounced.  
  
"You most certainly will not."   
  
"Why not Sev? You keep saying that you'll take me to Paris but we never go. It could be a chance to combine work and pleasure," she ran her hand across his chest.   
  
"I don't want you anywhere near Eric, it is out of the question," Severus tried to look stern.  
  
"Please Sev," Morgan pouted.   
  
Severus smiled, "at least I know where our daughters learned that pouting trick, however it doesn't work."  
  
"Damn," Morgan frowned, "I want to go to Paris with you, it would be romantic..."  
  
"Morgan, you're not going with me this time. But, circumstances allowing, I will take you during Christmas break for a short vacation, just the two of us."   
  
"Thank you Sev," Morgan brushed his lips with her own, "that makes me very happy."   
  
"I'm glad it pleases you, all I want is for you to be happy," Severus ran a hand through her soft hair. It felt like silk as it ran through his fingers.   
  
"You know what else would make me happy?"   
  
"What?" Severus raised a questioning eyebrow at her, he was glad that she was distracted, if only for a little while. They would both have more than enough to worry about later.   
  
Morgan rested both her hands on her husband's chest and raised herself up so that she could kiss him more fully, "you make me happy," she whispered as she ended the kiss.   
  
"Well then Mrs. Snape," Severus said as he stood up with her in his arms, "you are going to be an incredibly happy woman by the time I get done with you."

* * *

Dierna, Serena, Kamen, William, and Nick were the only ones left in the Gryffindor common room, everyone else had gone up to bed. The Halloween feast had been somewhat subdued that night due to the events that had occurred earlier in the day. By the time all the students had returned to the school everyone knew that Voldemort was out of Azkaban.   
  
The group of five was now involved in a game of Twister that they had borrowed from one of Dierna and Serena's roommates who was muggle born. William was currently in charge of the spinner and was having a great time watching the other four get tied in knots.   
  
"Right foot red," he called.   
  
"Bloody hell," Dierna mumbled as she tried to twist herself around. She only succeeded in getting herself tangled with Kamen sending them both to the ground. "Get off me Kamen!" She tried to push him off of her.   
  
"Damn Dierna! Why did you have to take me out too?" Kamen picked himself up and gave his sister a hand.   
  
"Not like it was intentional," she retorted as she stuck out her tongue at him.   
  
"Would you two stop arguing?! And William, please keep going," Serena pleaded; she was stuck in a really awkward position.   
  
William laughed at how hard Nick and Serena were struggling to stay up, "fine, left foot green!"   
  
"Oh no," Serena groaned as she tried to twist herself around. Nick wasn't doing any better. They finally ended up face to face while they were straining to maintain their balance.   
  
Nick finally collapsed, "I give up!"   
  
"Woo-hoo!!!" Serena let herself topple over now that she had won.   
  
"Hey guys, I'm hungry, does someone want to make a kitchen run?" Kamen asked.   
  
"Sure, I'll go with you," Dierna replied.   
  
"_With_ me? I was looking for someone to go _for_ me."   
  
Dierna rolled her eyes, "I'll go with you Kamen, but I'm not going for you."   
  
"Fine," Kamen stuck his tongue out at his little sister, "don't you need something from your room before we leave?" Kamen raised an eyebrow at his sister.   
  
"Yeah, I'll be right back," Dierna turned and ran up the stairs to the girls' dormitory and slipped into the room she shared with her twin and three other girls: Kandi, Becky, and Dinah. Kandi was a pure blooded witch, like the twins. Becky was muggle born and Dinah was half and half. The five girls got along great.   
  
Dierna quietly rummaged through her trunk, trying not to disturb the other girls. Finally she found what she was looking for, an old, slightly banged up, piece of parchment. 


	30. Chapter 30

* * *

"What will the potion do?" Macnair asked.  
  
"It's not just a potion; it's combined with a powerful and difficult spell." Draco responded, malice evident in his voice.

"But, what will all this achieve?"   
  
"It's never been done before, but if it works, Voldemort will rise again."

* * *

Morgan rested her head on her husband's chest as they lay in their bed. "I love you," she wrapped her arms around him tightly.   
  
Severus kissed the top of her head and ran his hands up and down her back, "I love you my darling little Morgan."   
  
"Of course you do," Morgan replied as snuggled closer to her husband, causing him to laugh softly. "By the way, how did your little talk with Serena go?"   
  
"Do I have to let the girls date?" Severus growled.   
  
Morgan giggled as she sat up, wrapping the sheet around her, "yes you do."   
  
"I hate the idea of any boys touching my daughters," Severus' tone was menacing, "I was ready to castrate Mark when I found him and Serena today..."  
  
"I love it when you get all protective like this, it's cute," Morgan leaned down to kiss him.   
  
"Watch who you call 'cute' dearest," Severus growled as he pulled Morgan down on top of him, "and I don't think that it is too protective of me to not want my daughters to date, they are young and..."  
  
"And they're almost seventeen, Sev..."  
  
"And," Severus interrupted his wife, "I don't want them to do anything foolish that will lead to broken hearts or worse."   
  
"I understand your concern Severus, but we have to start letting go sometime. I hate to see them growing up, but they do need a little freedom."   
  
"I give them plenty of freedom," Severus replied.   
  
Morgan laughed as she lay across her husband's chest, "somehow I doubt our daughters would agree with that. You do realize that you have completely different standards for our son than you do for our daughters?"   
  
"I don't know what you're talking about."   
  
"Well, then I'll leave you here to think about it for awhile, I'm going to go check on Nimue," Morgan rose and began pulling on her clothes. Severus smiled to himself, he had an amazing wife.   
  
"Oh, and Sev?" Morgan turned before she left.   
  
"What is it darling?"   
  
"I still think it's really cute that you're so overprotective at times," Morgan narrowly avoided the pillow that came sailing at her as she ducked out of the door.

* * *

Dierna and Kamen walked down the quiet corridors quickly, the Marauders' map held in front of them. It was one of the most useful things the Snape children had ever stumbled across.   
  
"Keep quite," Kamen hissed at Dierna, "Filch is too close to us for comfort."   
  
"I know," Dierna whispered back, "let's go another way."   
  
"No, this is the shortest way to the kitchen; I'm not going to take a longer way if at all possible."   
  
Dierna sighed, "fine, but if we get caught I'm saying you made me come with you."   
  
"Fine, just remember, you're the one holding the map." Kamen smirked at his little sister, knowing that he had the upper hand.   
  
Dierna bit back an angry reply, "fine, let's just hurry up and get to the kitchen.   
  
In a few minutes they were in front of a picture of a bowl of fruit that was the entrance to the kitchen, Kamen reached up and tickled the pear that turned into a door handle and they entered the kitchen.   
  
They were at once surrounded by a group of eager house elves, "master and mistress Snape!" one squeaked excitedly, "what can we be getting for you tonight?"   
  
Kamen grinned, he loved the house elves, they were always ready to contribute food to midnight wanderings. "Can you fix us a basket or something? We need some food to take back to the common room with us."   
  
"Of course master Snape," the house elves scurried around, preparing a ridiculously large amount of food for Kamen and Dierna to take with them. Kamen smiled at Dierna as the house elves worked, "I kinda wish Mum and Dad would get one of these guys at home, it would mean less work for us."   
  
Dierna snorted, "You know they have this thing about us learning how to do things for ourselves. Although I have yet to see what a clean room will get me in life."   
  
Kamen laughed, "I haven't figured that one out yet either."

* * *

Kalliope had skipped the evening devotions to walk along the beach. She felt only a slight twinge of guilt over missing the ritual; she needed time to collect her thoughts. So much had happened in such a short time.   
  
She slipped off her sandals and walked closer to the water, letting the surf wash over her feet. She sensed someone approaching and quickly turned, hand dropping to the dagger at her waist. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw that it was only Remus, "don't sneak up on me like that wizard."   
  
"Sorry, I wanted to talk to you and one of the priestesses said I might find you down here."   
  
Kalliope looked from him to the sky, "its getting close to the full moon."  
  
"Does that bother you?"   
  
Kalliope shook her head, "I made that very clear to you the last time you were here."   
  
"I just wanted to make sure your opinion of me hasn't changed," Remus gazed up at the white moon, he couldn't help thinking that it seemed to mock him. Not taking his gaze off the glowing orb he spoke, "does Sophia know about my condition?"   
  
"She has been informed."   
  
Remus nodded, "is she still willing to travel with us, knowing what kind of monster I am?"   
  
"Oh Remus, don't ever think about yourself like that. You are a kind and generous man who has never behaved in a way to alarm me," she laid a gentle hand on his arm, "look at me Remus," she gazed into his eyes, "you are not a monster."

Remus lowered his head, keeping his eyes trained on Kalliope's. He gently cupped her face in his hand, "Kalliope, I..."  
  
"Lady Kalliope, I found something that belongs to you!"   
  
Kalliope broke away from Remus to see Cadmus walking towards them with a rather indignant Sophia in tow. "Not again," Kalliope sighed.   
  
"Don't be mad Kalliope, I just had to say goodbye to Scamander," Sophia pleaded.   
  
"Just go back up to the temple Sophia and go to sleep, we leave in a few hours."   
  
"Now nothing happened Kalliope, don't be to upset with the little thing, even if she is an impertinent little sprite..." Cadmus smiled at the priestess.   
  
"Thank you for bringing her back."   
  
"It was my pleasure lady. Now, you look after yourself on this little trip, I don't want anything to happen to my favorite priestess," Cadmus stepped forward and kissed Kalliope roughly on her mouth. "Had to leave you something to remember me by," he winked at her before turning to walk back to his camp.   
  
Remus watched the exchange with amusement, Kalliope's dislike of being handled like that was clearly evident. As she turned, shaking her head over Cadmus' behavior, Remus caught her hand in his own, "why can't she see this boy?"   
  
Kalliope met his gaze, "The boy, Scamander, is the son of Xanthos."   
  
"The man who..."  
  
"Yes."   
  
"The boy is not his father."   
  
"I don't want to talk about it Remus," Kalliope wiped away a tear. Xanthos had been everything Scamander promised to be. He was charming, witty, and a brave warrior who had gained much glory. He had taken what he wanted. And he had wanted Kalliope.   
  
Kalliope thought of her small daughter, so perfect, a gift from the goddess in exchange for what she suffered at Xanthos' hands. Sophia had been given to her to try and replace that sweet innocent girl she had lost. Kalliope would make sure that Sophia never had to face those horrors herself.

* * *

Harry smiled at the stuffed llama that sat on his desk. It reminded him why he kept going every day. He was convinced that there was little hope for his marriage, but his children were and would be his life.   
  
"You busy?" Sirius stuck his head around the door.   
  
"No, just going through some mail."   
  
"Good, I have something I want to discuss with you," Sirius smiled at his godson.   
  
"And that is..."  
  
Sirius ran a hand trough his hair, "well, the thing is, Elizabeth doesn't want to have a large wedding or anything, just close friends and her children since neither of us have any other family, and well... since we're getting married over Christmas break we're trying to finalize plans, and Harry, I want you to be my best man."   
  
Harry smiled, "I would be honored."   
  
Sirius sighed, "Good, Elizabeth has been getting after me about when I was going to ask you."   
  
Harry laughed, "Already letting yourself get nagged?"   
  
Sirius grinned sheepishly, "Well, truthfully, I'm kinda enjoying it. And, speaking of marriages, how is Ginny?"   
  
Harry sighed and ran his hand over his unruly hair, "Things have been better, we've been communicating a lot less recently. I just don't know what to do anymore."   
  
"Hang in there kid, I think you'll work it out yet."   
  
"Thanks Sirius, any ideas on how to get her back?"   
  
Sirius smiled, "well, flowers never hurt."

* * *

Morgan watched Nimue sleeping, sighing; she sat down on the bed next to her daughter and ran a hand over her soft brown hair. "Oh sweetie, I wish this wasn't happening to you. I would do anything to take away the pain and hurt you're feeling."   
  
"Darling it's four in the morning come back to bed." Severus had woken up to find that his wife was missing; he had come in search of her.   
  
"I was just checking on Nimue."   
  
"For the third time tonight dearest, she is fine for now. The dreamless sleep potion you gave her will keep her out for a few more hours. Come back to bed Morgan, you need your sleep too."   
  
Morgan glanced down at her sleeping daughter one more time before rising to go to her husband.   
  
"I was worried when I woke up and you weren't there." Severus led his wife back to their bedroom.

"I'm sorry Sev, I just couldn't sleep and I had to check on her again."   
  
"I know you're worried darling, but don't do this to yourself. We will have plenty of time to worry in the morning." Severus made sure that his wife was settled in bed before climbing in himself. He wrapped his arms around her, "now, if you don't promise me that you are going to stay in bed for the rest of the night I am going to give you something that will ensure you stay asleep. What is it going to be?"   
  
"I'll stay in bed Sev, I promise."   
  
"You sure," Sev looked at her skeptically.   
  
"Yes."   
  
"Well, I think I'm going to have to keep a tight hold on you just to make sure."   
  
"I'd like that Sev," Morgan's eyes fluttered shut as she laid her head on his chest. Within moments she was fast asleep.   
  
When Severus was sure that his wife was out cold he gently lifted her off of him and tucked the covers in around her securely. He brushed a soft kiss across her lips and then got up to check on Nimue himself.

* * *

As the sun rose over the temple, casting soft rosy light over the entire complex, three robed figures emerged from the inner sanctuary. The soft yellow of Kalliope's attire and Sophia's white robes contrasted sharply with Remus' dark attire as they stepped out into the sunlight.   
  
"Where exactly are we going?" Sophia asked.   
  
"To a school called Hogwarts, its in Britain," Kalliope answered her.   
  
"And why are we going? You haven't told me anything except that I have to go with you," Sophia impatiently pushed her long red hair out of her face as the wind caught it and whipped it around her.   
  
Remus answered that question, "there is a dark wizard who has escaped and we require Kalliope's assistance as an oracle."   
  
"But she could give prophecies for you from here," Sophia persisted.   
  
Remus smiled at the girl's determination, "there is also a student at the school who has been having visions."   
  
"So?" Sophia shrugged her shoulders, "Most of the priestesses at the temple have visions. I'm training to be an oracle, there's nothing strange about that."   
  
"But it is not a common thing outside of our community child," Kalliope reminded her, "We have a special type of magic that few of the wizarding world possess."   
  
"But the priestesses of Avalon...."   
  
"They possess a very similar magic to ours Sophia. Our magic used to be widely used in the world. Temples all over Greece had oracles, now we are confined to one small area where those who remember the old ways may come."   
  
"But why..."   
  
"Haven't you asked enough questions yet little one?" Kalliope smiled at her charge.   
  
"No, I want to know what is going on."   
  
"And so you shall soon enough. Remember, a good priestess knows when to be silent and when to speak."   
  
Sophia took the hint and remained silent as they moved down towards the beach. She took the opportunity to open the lid of the blue clay pot that held her pet serpent.   
  
Kalliope and Remus had a quick consultation about the best way to apparate back to Hogsmead, which Sophia listened to with little interest. She waited for a lull in the conversation before she spoke up again, "Kalliope, can I ask just a few more questions before we leave."   
  
"Of course child."   
  
Sophia rolled her eyes at being called a child, but didn't let it distract her, "are there going to be men at this school?"   
  
Kalliope laughed, "Is that all you can think of little one?"   
  
Sophia tossed her head, "no, but, its different there, right?"   
  
Kalliope nodded, "yes, the men in that world are equals or dominant to the women."   
  
"Why would women let themselves be dominated?" Sophia asked, wide eyed. She had lived all of her life in the temple where women were seen as the connection between the people of earth and the immortals. It was a position treated with high honor and she had trouble imagining a world where women would be subservient to men.   
  
"You are well enough acquainted with our history to know that even the women here weren't always treated with the respect they deserve," Kalliope reminded her.  
  
But Sophia brushed off that response, "but those men claimed that they served the gods, and everyone knows that the goddess was here first, she is mother to the earth and all the gods, therefore women are the bearers of life and the bringers of death. No man can claim so important a role."   
  
Remus had to cover his laughter by coughing, when he recovered himself he turned to Kalliope, "she's almost as much as a feminist as you are."   
  
"I can't help it if that's the way things are, the child speaks the truth," Kalliope replied smugly.

Sophia looked at Remus, a confused expression on her face, "do women really let men rule them in your world wizard?"   
  
Remus smiled at her, he had a feeling that Sophia was going to be a very interesting addition to the Hogwarts community, "in most cases no, nowadays many men and women strive to be equals."   
  
"Why would a woman acquiesce to be equal to a man?! Don't they have any respect for a woman's role as the symbol of the goddess, or her role in the trinity?" Sophia indignantly interrupted him.   
  
"The trinity?" Remus looked to Kalliope for an explanation.   
  
"A woman lives three stages to her life; the first is as the virgin, then the life bearing mother, and then the death crone that is what we refer to as the trinity."   
  
Remus nodded in understanding, "well Miss Sophia, I have a feeling that Hogwarts and the wizarding world might be a bit of a culture shock to you. However, if it makes you feel any better, Hogwarts currently has a headmistress, so you will be dealing with a female authority figure."   
  
That lead to a whole other barrage of questions from Sophia, before the three of them disapparated from the Mediterranean beach.


	31. Chapter 31

"Don't you ever knock?" Severus tried to look stern but there was no malice in his voice.   
  
Dierna grinned unrepentantly, "Nope, besides, it's not my fault if you told me how to get around the wards on these rooms, if you didn't want me in here..."   
  
"Alright, that's enough," Severus interrupted her, "now what is it that you want?"

Dierna made herself comfortable on the couch, knowing that her father was trying to rush her and it would only irritate him more, "did you still want me for today or do I actually get a weekend off?" Dierna referred to the project she was supposed to be helping him with. But, so far, he hadn't told her what it was they were working on.   
  
Dierna found it increasingly annoying that she was blindly following orders regarding this project; she desperately wanted to know what she was working on. Before her father had a chance to answer Dierna asked him another question, "and when are you going to tell me what it is you're working on? I want to know."   
  
Severus sighed, "Dierna, I don't have time to explain it to you right now, besides, I don't even know all the details. But I promise I will explain everything to you eventually, be patient for just a little while longer child," he looked away from her, "it will have to wait till after I have a little talk with Eric," he muttered under his breath.   
  
"So, does that mean I'm free today?" Dierna asked hopefully.   
  
"No..." Severus picked up a few sheets of paper that were lying on an end table, "there are a few things I need you to know before we can go any farther on this project." He handed her one of the sheets of paper, "that is the list of theories and ingredients I need you to know about and the books to find them in, they are all in the restricted section." He held out the second slip of paper, but drew it back again when Dierna reached for it, "this is a pass to the restricted section of the library, you will use it only to research what is on the list I gave you, if you abuse it you will find yourself in a world of trouble, understood?"   
  
"Yes sir," Dierna replied as she took the pass.   
  
"And don't even think about wasting your time trying to figure out what this project concerns while you're researching, I can guarantee you that it isn't listed in any book in the school library."   
  
Dierna cocked her head to the side as she looked up at her father, "is it because it is too dangerous or something that is completely new and isn't published yet?"   
  
Severus regarded her inquisitive expression for a moment before answering, "It is extremely dangerous and it involves knowledge that was supposedly lost a long time ago."

* * *

Remus, Kalliope, and Sophia apparated into Hogsmead. Sophia was absolutely captivated with her surroundings and immediately bombarded her companions with a continuous string of questions. Kalliope rolled her eyes at Remus, indicating that until Sophia became a bit more accustomed to the wizarding world this is what they could expect. Although Kalliope had never been to Britain before she had spent a good deal of time in a wizarding community close to the temple, therefore she had a good idea of what to expect.   
  
Kalliope turned to face her young charge when she realized that she hadn't caught any of the questions the girl was throwing at her. "Slow down child, there will be time enough later for all those questions. Right now we need to get to the school."   
  
"But... but... I want to... can't we look around I little first?" Sophia kept turning around so that she could take in everything, "please Kalliope, please..."   
  
"Not now little one, but I promise that you will get a chance to explore later," Kalliope calmly replied.   
  
Seeing that Sophia was ready to protest again Remus jumped in, "You'll have a lot to see when we get to Hogwarts, it will give you more than enough to explore until we have time to come back to Hogsmead."   
  
This distracted Sophia from her fascination with the town and she started a new line of questioning about Hogwarts. Remus patiently answered her questions as they walked towards the school. Since the distance wasn't that far Remus decided it would be better if they walked back from Hogsmead. He had a feeling that both of the women needed time to readjust and it gave him a chance to answer all Sophia's questions, although it didn't look like they were ever going to end.   
  
Kalliope listened with a detached interest as Sophia continued to rattle off questions which Remus was answering with the infinite amount of patience Kalliope remembered from the last time she had been with Remus. He had been so wonderful, so understanding, so kind... she was glad to see that those qualities she had treasured in him had not changed over the years.   
  
There had been a time when she thought he would stay with her and that she would be his forever. She had been young then and grieving, he had seemed like the answer to her prayers and it was the first and only time she had considered giving herself freely to a man. She had been hurt so many times in the past. As she watched Remus interacting with her overzealous charge she felt her heart twist. She wondered if she was still willing to give up the only life she had ever known for a man, no matter how wonderful he seemed to be.

* * *

"Now where did these flowers come from?" Meg asked her sister-in-law with a less than innocent expression. "Did Harry send them?"   
  
"Yes," Ginny nodded and lightly traced her fingers over the silky petals of the crimson roses with a sad smile and a look of regret clearly marked on her face.   
  
"So, why the sad face?" Meg pressed.   
  
Ginny shrugged her shoulders "Well, it's just that instead of sending flowers..." 

"He could have brought them himself," Meg finished for her friend.   
  
Ginny nodded as a tear fell from her face and landed on the one of the crimson roses where it rolled down the petals into the center of the bloom. "I want him back Meg, but I feel like he's lost to me."   
  
"Don't give up that easily Ginny. The fact that he sent you flowers must be some indication that he still cares."   
  
Ginny smiled at her friend, "I know, it's just that some days are just harder than others." She tried to shake off the feeling of despair; it wouldn't do her any good to dwell on the negative "how is my brother treating you these days?"   
  
Meg grinned, "very good, he's home this weekend and he even managed to come home for a few hours several evenings last week. He says he doesn't feel right leaving me and the kids alone like this."   
  
"Is Charlie looking after the kids today?" Ginny asked.  
  
Meg blushed, "actually your mum is, she wanted to give me and Charlie and chance to be alone together, and that's kind of hard to come by with five kids running around."   
  
"So why aren't you with my brother now?"   
  
Meg's hand flew up to her mouth as she gasped, "I completely forgot, I was supposed to meet him back at our house almost a half hour ago."   
  
Ginny laughed, "Don't worry about it, if I know my brother he will be here any minute looking for you." This statement was almost promptly followed by a knock on the door that went unanswered as Charlie let himself in.   
  
"Where have you been hiding my wife?" Charlie asked good naturedly, although there were signs of concern on his face.   
  
"I don't know what you're talking about Charlie, I haven't seen Meg all day," Ginny replied, her eyes wide with fake innocence.   
  
"That's not funny little sister," Charlie teased as he picked Ginny up off the floor moving her out of his way so that he could get to his wife.   
  
Ginny watched her brother and his wife with tears in her eyes. Their love for each other was so obvious, it was like what she and Harry used to have. As she blinked rapidly, trying to keep the tears from spilling over she decided to sit down and write to her husband as soon as she could.   
  
Dierna pulled yet another volume off the bookshelf and began flipping through it. She had found what her father had told her to in a very short amount of time and was now looking through books for her own enjoyment while keeping an eye out for Madame Pince, who had been watching her like a hawk.   
  
Most of the information she was supposed to be looking for involved potions that required human blood and the theories behind the power of sacrificial blood. It was incredibly interesting and some of the potions and theories that were presented were absolutely amazing. It seemed that the power of sacrificial blood could be used to enhance almost any potion and could have fantastic results. It was all rather creepy and she was now looking for something a bit less morbid.   
  
She flipped through a large 17th century book, enjoying the way the smooth vellum pages felt as she turned them. She thought that the old binding jobs were like artwork, so much more fascinating than a simple book with paper pages.   
  
She continued to turn the pages, waiting to see if anything caught her interest. Her eyes fell on one page and widened at what she saw. The potion was by no means complicated, Dierna knew that it was well within her abilities to create it, she was sure it had to be the purpose of the potion that had landed this book in the restricted section.   
  
She looked down the list of required ingredients: mistletoe, pennyroyal, mandrake root, wormwood, white willow bark, occamy feathers, and salamander blood. She figured that the occamy feathers and the mandrake root she could very easily get from her father's personal supply without him missing them and all the other ingredients were openly available to students.   
  
She carefully copied down the instructions to the potion, noting that it involved a simple process that would not take long to make. She smiled to herself; it had the potential to come in very handy, especially if she had her way...

* * *

Sophia gazed wide eyed up at the towering height of Hogwarts. She moved a bit closer to Kalliope, "it's so big..." she whispered.   
  
"A little different than what you're used to isn't it," Remus smiled at Sophia's reaction, it reminded him strongly of the way new first years looked the first time they saw Hogwarts.   
  
"Yeah," Sophia barely managed to breathe out. She pulled her cloak closer around her and shivered, she decided that she definitely did not like Britain's weather. This was far to cold for her liking.   
  
"So, this is home?" Kalliope asked as she fixed Remus with her dark brown gaze.   
  
Remus gave her a half smile, "it's the closest thing I've got. But I have several very good friends here, almost like family."  
  
Kalliope continued to look at Remus, her gaze was penetrating. She had heard the longing in his voice when he mentioned family.   
  
"What is it, are you using your priestess powers to read my mind?" Remus half jokingly asked Kalliope.   
  
Kalliope raised an eyebrow at him and answered in a low voice that held all the authority of a senior priestess, "you keep much hidden wizard, and yet you once chided me for doing the same thing. Why do you try to hide?"   
  
Remus thought that Kalliope had all the bearing of a regal queen, even though she was several inches shorter than him he felt like she was looking down at him. She could be rather unsettling at times, "I don't know..."  
  
"You may not know but the goddess does, and she allows me to use her eyes."   
  
"And can her eyes show you what is hidden in my heart?"   
  
"No, but you can."   
  
Remus felt a twinge of regret, he and Kalliope had shared so much with each other years before, and when he was with her that time seemed to fade away. But he still held back. He didn't want to hurt this woman, she had changed his life.   
  
"Can we go in now?" Sophia burst in on their conversation, "it's really cold."   
  
Remus chuckled, "it's only the beginning of November; wait till winter really sets in."   
  
"You mean it will get colder than this?!" Sophia's mouth hung open in shock.   
  
Remus only laughed harder, "I think you'll love the snow," he teased as he winked at her.   
  
Sophia didn't reply, the thought of snow combined with the fact that they had just entered the castle had finally rendered her speechless. She slipped over to Kalliope's side and timidly reached for the priestess' hand. All of the new experiences were starting to wear her down.   
  
Kalliope gave the girl's hand a reassuring squeeze, "are you alright little one?"   
  
Sophia nodded mutely as she gazed around the large entry way with enormous eyes.   
  
Remus was thankful that there wasn't anyone else around, he had a feeling that Sophia probably couldn't handle too much more right now, but he also knew that Kalliope would want to get right to work. "Why don't I show you ladies to your rooms and then we can start the necessary introductions," he spoke as he made his way up a staircase towards a hallway that held guest rooms leaving no room for argument.   
  
Kalliope followed Remus' brisk pace, her mind working quickly. There was so much she needed to know about the situation she was now in. The first thing she wanted to do was see the girl that was having the visions, and she debated over what she should do with Sophia while she was seeing to that. She didn't want to leave her ward alone in a strange place, but she needed to work one on one with the girl she was supposed to help.   
  
"Look," Sophia, tugged on Kalliope's sleeve dragging the priestess away from her thoughts, "the pictures move..." her voice was a low whisper that was filled with wonder. "How do they do that?"   
  
"Their magic here is a bit different than the magic we use in the temple, I'm sure if you ask Remus later he can explain it to you," Kalliope answered, knowing that Remus was listening to the exchange and that he would be more than happy to answer more of Sophia's questions.   
  
"Here we are," Remus said as he opened a large, ornately carved, ebony door. He led Kalliope and Sophia into a large sitting room that was decorated with a definite feminine feel.   
  
Kalliope smiled, the atmosphere of the school was definitely different than that of the temple. The dark wood furniture on the hard wood floor and deep rose brocade fabrics that decorated this room were a far cry from the cool marble floors and light airy atmosphere of the temple. The very little she had seen of the castle pleased her though; it was very beautiful in its own way, although the cold would take some getting used to.   
  
Remus had been carrying both Kalliope and Sophia's belongings, which he couldn't help noticing there were very few of, and he set them down on the couch. "Through that door," he said indicating another dark wood door, "is your bedroom Kalliope, the entrance to Sophia's room is through yours"   
  
Kalliope nodded in satisfaction at the arrangement, "thank you Remus. Now, I want to meet this girl that you brought me here to help."   
  
Remus smiled, "you don't waste any time do you?"   
  
"There may not be time to waste," Kalliope retorted. "Now, as soon as I find a way to keep this one entertained for awhile..." she nodded in Sophia's direction.   
  
"Well, why doesn't she come with us for now, if nothing better presents itself I'll take her on a tour of the school while you work," Remus suggested.   
  
"I think that should work," Kalliope replied as she gave the werewolf a brilliant smile.

* * *

Nick, Kamen, and William were in the middle of a rather heated discussion over quidditch tactics. 

"I don't care guys, that is an incredibly dangerous move and as much as I want to win I'm not comfortable using it," Nick did not like being ganged up on like this.   
  
"Come on Nick, it's not that dangerous for us!" Kamen exclaimed.   
  
"But it is for your sister," Nick pointed out.   
  
"Yeah, but she'll agree to do it if we ask her to," William inserted smoothly.   
  
"I still don't like it..."  
  
"I think it would come in very handy when we play Slytherin, at least think about it Nick," Kamen pushed. He and William had come up with a brilliant move that they would love to use; the fact that it was dangerous didn't faze them at all.  
  
"Hey William! I want to talk to you for a minute," Sirius called as he came towards the three boys from the other end of the hallway.   
  
"Bloody hell..." William muttered, "What does he want and why does he think I care?"   
  
"It could be worse," Kamen observed.   
  
"How could it be any worse than that?"  
  
"He could be your real father," Kamen stated dryly as he rolled his eyes.  
  
William grinned, "You're right, as bad as it is that he's marrying my mother I don't think I could stand him really being my dad."   
  
"What are you guys up to?" Sirius asked, smiling, as he came up.   
  
"Just discussing some quidditch tactics," Nick replied amiably as he watched the grin quickly fade from William's face.   
  
"Really, do you have anything spectacular planned for the season? I can't wait to see you guys in action at the next game, the team looks great this year," Sirius looked to his future step-son, hoping that his efforts might just pay off this time.   
  
"Why don't you guys go ahead, I'll catch up with you later," William said with ill concealed disgust in his tone.   
  
Sirius felt his spirits drop a bit at the reception he was getting, so as soon as Kamen and Nick took off he tried again, "how is practice going?"   
  
"Fine."   
  
"Have you talked to your mother recently? We've been making more plans for the wedding; I think everything is about set now."   
  
"She mentioned that."

"Willow seems really excited about it."   
  
"She's four, everything excites her."   
  
Sirius tried another tactic, "I was kind of hoping you might be excited about it too."  
  
"Not really," William replied moodily.   
  
"Why not William? I mean, all Willow can talk about is how excited she is and how she can't wait for me to be her daddy..."  
  
"You will never be our father," William cut him off coldly. He couldn't stand this man who had come into his mother's life. He could easily ignore how happy his mother had seemed recently, he was resolved to never like Sirius.   
  
Sirius was too shocked to say anything for a moment. He knew that William hadn't made any effort towards accepting him, but he honestly hadn't expected to encounter this kind of animosity. "I'm sorry you feel that way."   
  
"Yeah, I bet you are," sarcasm dripped from William's voice.   
  
"Why can't you accept me William? I love your mother very much, and I want to truly be a part of your family. Your sister is more than willing to accept me, why can't you?" The pain was evident in Sirius' voice.   
  
"Because I..."  
  
"Hey Padfoot! I want you to meet a friend of mine," Remus approached William and Sirius, with Kalliope and Sophia following close behind.   
  
"I want to continue this discussion later," Sirius told William. He only got a shrug and a disgusted look in reply. He shifted his attention back to Remus, "Hey Moony, I didn't expect you to be back this soon."   
  
Remus grinned, "Well, things went a little smoother than I was planning on. I'd like you to meet the priestess, and chief oracle of the temple of the earth mother, and a very good friend of mine, this is Kalliope. Kalliope, this is my oldest and closest friend, Sirius Black."   
  
Sirius took Kalliope's hand in his and raised it to his lips, "it's a pleasure to meet you Kalliope."   
  
"I can't wait to see if all the stories I've heard about you are true Sirius Black, Lupy tells some fascinating stories."   
  
"We'll have to compare notes sometime," Sirius replied as he shot a murderous glance at Remus, "I would love to hear what Moony has told you about me."   
  
"There will be time enough to share stories later," Remus cut in, "Sirius, this is Sophia, she's Kalliope's ward."   
  
"Another Greek beauty," Sirius replied as he took the girl's hand in his own and raised it to his lips, causing her to giggle and blush slightly.   
  
"We're going to find Minerva and the Snapes, want to come along Padfoot?"   
  
"Sure, I would love to," Sirius was glad that things seemed to be moving along so fast. Hopefully some solutions would start appearing soon.   
  
Remus thought for a moment, "William, would you do us a favor and show Sophia around for a little bit?"   
  
"Sure," William replied. He figured that Kamen and Nick wouldn't mind if he didn't catch up with them for awhile, plus it would get him away from Sirius.   
  
"Alright then, we'll find you two later, have fun and stay out of trouble," Remus said with a smile as he, Sirius, and Kalliope left.   
  
"So Sophia," William turned to face the red-haired novice priestess, "how much of the school have you seen so far?"   
  
"Not much, William," she liked the sound of his name; it was different than anything she had ever heard before growing up in the temple. "We haven't been here long; all I've seen is our rooms and a few hallways."   
  
"Well, then why don't we start with a few of the class rooms and the Gryffindor common room that is if you don't mind meeting a few more people?"   
  
"I don't mind... and where are you taking me?"   
  
William smiled, "the Gryffindor common room..." he went on to explain about the different school houses and other various school information, rather liking the way Sophia hung on his every word.

* * *

quick authoress' note: yay!!! I got my first review here at fanfiction.net (I'm now very excited)

thank you sevsnapesgirl2!

please keep the reviews coming, I love hearing from people


	32. Chapter 32

"What do you think?" Viviane held up a white dress as she faced Stefan.   
  
"Very nice," Stefan gave his approval, "so is that the one?"   
  
"Yep, I absolutely love it, but do you think Colin will?" She looked a bit apprehensive.   
  
"He'll love it," Stefan told her confidently, "now try it on for me; I want to see how gorgeous you look in it."  
  
Viviane rolled her eyes at him as she stepped behind the dressing screen in his room. "Hopefully it won't be too long before Dierna will be shopping for a dress like this," Viviane spoke as she changed, "but the real question is, will she be wearing white on the big day?" There was a teasing lilt to her voice.   
  
"Hey! That's none of your business Miss Snape."   
  
"That's the future Mrs. Bennet to you MacNeill," Viviane looked around the screen and stuck her tongue out at him.   
  
"Very attractive, that must be why Colin loves you so much," he commented dryly.   
  
Viviane raised an eyebrow at him, "of course, you thought there was another reason? Besides you know you love me too."   
  
Stefan laughed, "Of course I do, now hurry up and get out here, I'm still waiting to see you in that dress."   
  
"Alright, hold on a minute," Viviane smoothed the soft folds of the white fabric with her hands before she came out from behind the screen, "well?"   
  
Stefan let out a low whistle, "very nice. You look beautiful."   
  
Viviane blushed and moved to the full length mirror so she could see herself. The white, strapless, satin sheath hugged her form. There was a thin stripe of pale pink ribbon that ran around the hem and the short train in the back of the dress. She turned in a slow circle as she looked in the mirror, "you think this is the right dress?"   
  
"Definitely, it's a beautiful wedding dress and you will make a beautiful bride. Now, how many days left on the countdown till you will be Mrs. Bennet?"   
  
Viviane smiled, "56, counting today."

* * *

Serena smiled at Mark as he reached for her hand and brought it up to his lips. They had managed to find a deserted classroom at the top of one of the towers and it looked like they would get a few hours alone.

"How much trouble are you in because of me?" Mark asked.   
  
"It's not your fault Mark, I'm off the quidditch team for awhile, but I'm still allowed to see you. It could be worse..."  
  
"I still feel bad about it," Mark kissed her fingers and moved down to her hand, he raised his eyes to hers while his lips were pressed against her palm.   
  
"I like that," Serena purred at him.   
  
"Good," his eyes were soft as they looked into hers.

Serena found herself blushing and she tried to draw her hand away, but Mark pulled back and she ended up toppling into his lap. As she tried to right herself she felt Mark's arms encircle her and she smiled at how nice they felt.   
  
"Mark..."  
  
"Hmmm..." Mark pressed his lips against Serena's silky hair.   
  
"I thought about what we talked about before, and I think, I mean I want to..."  
  
Mark turned Serena so that he could look in her eyes again, "only if you are completely sure, I don't want to pressure you into anything."

* * *

"So, you've spent your whole life living in temple?" William asked Sophia.   
  
"Yes, it's a temple consecrated to the earth mother, she is the mother of all the gods and all life on earth. I'm one of her virgins and I will be her priestess soon."   
  
"What about your parents? Are they at the temple or did they send you there to be trained?"   
  
"Oh, I never knew my parents," Sophia answered somewhat flippantly.   
  
"I'm sorry."   
  
"I'm not," Sophia brushed off the condolence, "they exposed me when I was born, they didn't want me."   
  
"They left you out to die?! Why would they do something like that to their own child?" William couldn't believe what he had just heard.   
  
Sophia shrugged, "I don't know, all I know is that they were one of the magical tribes that still wanders the area. They probably didn't want me because they were facing a time of hunger or the simply didn't want another child. They left me on the beach and Cadmus; he's the leader of a warrior group, found me and brought me to the temple. They gave me to Kalliope because her daughter was killed."   
  
William tried to take in everything Sophia had just told him, "that all sounds pretty horrible to me; I still can't imagine anyone abandoning their child like that."   
  
"It doesn't happen that often now, only occasionally in the tribal groups."   
  
"You are lucky that someone found you."

"The goddess watches out for her own, if she has me marked to be her priestess then I will not come to too much harm."   
  
"You really believe in this goddess?"   
  
Sophia stopped walking and faced William, hands on her hips, "do you dare insult my goddess?! She is the mother of the universe and she controls all that happens. She is the sender of visions, the protector of women, and the punisher of men. She will deal with you for your insolence!"   
  
William held out his hands in front of him, as thought to ward off Sophia's verbal attack, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way. I've never even heard of your temple before and I was just looking for an explanation, not to be cursed by some deity I never knew existed."   
  
"Oh... well you should still respect Her. But I guess that I can't expect a mere man to understand."   
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" it was William's turn to feel insulted, although he was also rather amused.

* * *

Kalliope followed Remus and Sirius towards a tower on the east side of the school; she trailed slightly behind them looking around her. She worked over the situation in her mind, trying to figure out how to explain to a 13 year old girl the source of her visions; she shook her head, deciding to wait till she met the girl to figure that out. That led to another thought, "are they expecting us?"   
  
Remus, a little surprised by the question since she had been silent for most of the walk, replied, "I sent a house elf to inform them that we were coming up while you were getting your things situated in your room."   
  
Kalliope nodded in acknowledgement, and decided to find out as much as she could before they reached their destination, "how is she being dealt with now?"

"Her parents have kept her with them; they're a bit shaken up by this as well, especially since she kept it a secret for so long."   
  
"Her parents are here?" Kalliope frowned, the last thing she needed was overprotective parents getting in her way when she had work to do.   
  
"Yes, they're both teachers here," Remus answered, "does that make a difference?"   
  
Kalliope sighed, "Remus, this is not an easy situation, and I can promise you now that this girl will have to face some difficult choices and her suffering is not over yet. I just don't need hovering parents getting in my way when I'm trying to help her, even if it seems like she is hurting."   
  
Remus nodded in understanding, but chose not to give her any indication of how he thought the Snapes would react; he knew how protective Severus could be of his girls. They climbed one last staircase and Remus announced, "This is it, ready?"   
  
Kalliope nodded in affirmation.   
  
Remus raised his hand to knock on the door, but it was opened from the other side before he had a chance. He smiled slightly, "been waiting for us Minerva?"   
  
Minerva shook her head at Remus, there was something that seemed different about him, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was, "the poor girl is incredibly nervous, I think it best that we make the introductions as soon as possible. And this must be the priestess," she nodded in Kalliope's direction.   
  
Kalliope stepped forward, "I am Kalliope, a priestess and oracle of the mother goddess. I hope that my service to Her will help the child in question."   
  
Minerva stepped back, "then I think you should meet her," and she led them into the room.

* * *

Serena looked into Mark's eyes. She trusted him completely and felt sure that this was what she wanted; her only hope was that no one would find out. As bad as her father's reaction had been when he found out she had a boyfriend she didn't want to think about how he would react to this.  
  
She sighed, she wanted this and it seemed right and she couldn't imagine going back now. As Mark's lips found hers everything seemed to fall into place. This was what she wanted, and she kept telling herself that.

* * *

Morgan clutched Nimue's hand in her own as her daughter looked at the priestess wide-eyed as the introductions were made. Morgan found that she wasn't taking very much in; she was too concerned about how here daughter was trembling.   
  
"I would like some time alone with Nimue," Kalliope's voice cut into Morgan's reverie.   
  
"I'm not sure if I think that's a wise idea," Severus frowned as he put an arm around his daughter possessively.   
  
Kalliope countered him calmly, "I think that the two of us can communicate better if we are given time alone, I will be able to help her to the best of my abilities. What do you think Nimue, are you willing to work with me one on one?"  
  
Nimue had sat silent through al the proceedings up to this point, she finally found her voice, "yes," she answered a bit tentatively, "I think that would be easiest."   
  
Kalliope smiled warmly at the girl, "then I think the two of us should go for a little walk, we have a lot to discuss," Kalliope moved to the door and waited for Nimue to join her and was pleased when the girl left her parents without any hesitation.   
  
The two of them moved down the hallway and Kalliope gently laid a hand on the girl's arm, "is there someplace we can go where we will not be interrupted?"   
  
Nimue nodded, "Yes, there's a small study room only one floor down that I don't think anyone uses."   
  
Kalliope smiled at her, "that would be perfect, there is much you need to know and I would like to be able to explain it to you without being interrupted."   
  
They made their way down to the study room; Kalliope closed the door behind them and with a wave of her hand conjured several large pillows on the floor. She sat cross-legged on one and motioned for Nimue to come sit in front of her. When the two of them were sitting knee to knee Kalliope began, "the art of seeing has a long tradition. It occurs much more frequently in women than in men, my people say that it comes from the goddess that we serve, sometimes it is seen as a gift, sometimes a curse. Are you following me so far child?"   
  
Nimue frowned, "why is it a curse?"   
  
"It is not always a curse. It is a gift that the goddess bestows on a select few, however, when a woman is ridiculed for her gift, or she is not believed, it can seem like a curse. One of my ancestors, Kassandra of Troy, suffered because no one believed her visions."   
  
Nimue's eyes widened slightly, "so, is this gift passed down through bloodlines?"   
  
"Somewhat, although it can skip many generations, it might be easier to just show you."   
  
"Show me?"

"Here, give me your hands," Kalliope pressed her hands to Nimue's, palm to palm, "I'm going to form a connection with you now, visions will pass between us showing you the history of my bloodline and then the history of your own, are you ready?"   
  
Nimue nodded, and tried to prepare herself, she felt the now familiar rushing in her ears as the first wave of visions hit her. The visions shifted in and out, showing her the history of the women in Kalliope's line who had shared the gift of the visions...

_A woman on a horse, without saddle or bridle, led a group of women warriors. They wore bronze and leather armor and carried spears and bronze swords, Nimue watched as they charged a similarly outfitted group of men. Without knowing how she knew it Nimue realized that this was an early group of Amazons. She held her breath, watching as the women were cut down by the men until the lead woman raised her hands to the sky and cried out in a language Nimue couldn't understand. But the next thing she saw was a streak of white lighting, and all the men fell to the ground. This time she somehow understood the woman when she cried "the goddess protects her own!"_   
  
_The vision shifted, it showed her a high walled city and a large mountain in the background, the harbor was chocked with ships. It moved in closer and she saw a young woman who looked eerily similar to Kalliope, even her mode of dress did not appear that different. The woman in her vision raised her arm and pointed at a man across from her, who had a beautiful woman clinging to his arm, she cried out, "He was to die, but he lives and now with that whore he brought back with him our city will burn! Our fate is sealed, the gods have spoken. I who am beloved of the mother goddess and of Apollo have seen it!" She watched as the other people in the vision laughed at this pronouncement and Nimue felt her stomach twist in fear, she had seen death and destruction, would it play out in the same way as this? _

_ The vision twisted, it was the same woman again, only it appeared several years had passed, the woman was at the top of the city, watching her home erupt in flames. She stood before a temple and cried out for the protection of the gods as a group of men approached her, Nimue knew that they had to be the enemy. She watched in horror, for though the woman had claimed the sanctuary of the temple, they still advanced. She thought she was going to be sick when one of the men grabbed the woman and threw her to the ground, taking her there on the steps of the temple. _

_She saw the woman again, her belly round with child, as she crouched in the back of a ship as it crossed the choppy Aegean. She saw her stand before another woman as her captor's head was struck from his body. She saw her flee, and eventually, holding her child, reach a temple by the sea.   
_  
_Kalliope's voice cut into the vision, "that is my temple, from that point on my ancestors have served the goddess there."  
  
Nimue watched as a progression of priestesses passed before her mind's eye as the vision continued. They passed quickly, showing her women serving their goddess, and then they slowed again, showing her Kalliope as a young woman.   
  
Nimue saw her initiation into the ranks of the priestesses. She saw her praying to her goddess, arms upraised voice crying out. She saw her assisting a group of devotees to the goddess who came to the temple, a group of men, warriors. Nimue's stomach tightened, this seemed so familiar... so like the vision she had seen of Kassandra..._  
  
_She watched, even though she didn't want to, she knew what would happen when one of the men approached Kalliope and roughly pulled her off. Nimue couldn't block the vision when this man, so like the other warrior, took Kalliope on the steps of her own temple. _

_ Nimue watched as the vision shifted, showing her holding a child, Nimue briefly wondered how anyone who had suffered like that could be happy and obviously love the child so much. But then she saw a flash, and a horrible symbol appeared in the sky. Nimue instantly recognized it as the mark of Voldemort. She watched as a group of masked death eaters converged on the temple. She saw one rip the child from Kalliope's arms, his mask falling away as he did so. She gasped, it was Draco Malfoy, she watched, tears streaming down her face as he killed the child. The tears turned to sobs when the other man, who she could only guess was Draco's father, fell on Kalliope. Why should one woman suffer so much? Was this how her goddess protected her own?_

_ But then the vision shifted and Nimue nearly gasped, she saw Kalliope cradling the broken body of her child as Professor Lupin held Kalliope in his own arms. She saw him comforting the priestess, standing by her side as the funeral pyre consumed those who had died at the hands of the death eaters. He was by her side when a warrior from one of the tribes pressed a child into Kalliope's arms telling her that she had been abandoned and he hoped that she in some way might help atone for what Kalliope had lost. And that vision ended...  
_  
"Why?!" Nimue choked out, "why does your goddess let you suffer so much, why does she not protect you better?" The tears continued to stream down her face.   
  
"The goddess does not always reveal her purposes," Kalliope replied, tears in her own eyes.   
  
"No one should suffer like that... is my own history that brutal?"

Kalliope thought for a moment, "I do not know, we will find out together when you show me."   
  
"But how will I show you if I don't know what it is?" Nimue asked, feeling like all of this was going way over her head.   
  
"You know it; you just don't realize it yet. I can show you how to unlock that information, now are you ready?"


	33. Chapter 33

Dierna had taken the books that she needed from the restricted section and was now sitting at a table in the main part of the library. She was ready for a break; she could only read about sacrificial blood rites for so long. She turned to get up and ran right into Connor, who had obviously been standing behind her for some time.  
  
"What do you want Connor?" Dierna glared at him.   
  
"The same thing as always, you."

"You are so disgusting," Dierna picked up her books and tried to push her way around him, but Connor blocked her path.   
  
"Why are you in such a hurry? I just want to talk." Connor tried to grab her.   
  
"Yeah, I'm sure that's all you want," Dierna returned through clenched teeth as she twisted out of his way.   
  
"Is there a problem here?"   
  
Dierna turned at the sound of the new voice and sighed in relief, it was Kamen and Nick. She smiled at the way the two of them were glaring at Connor. She had to admit that as horrible as Kamen was to her sometimes he wouldn't let anyone else mess with her.   
  
Kamen gently moved his sister out of his way and moved to tower over Connor, he grabbed the Slytherin by the collar and roughly pulled him up till his toes were barely touching the ground, "I suggest that you leave my sister alone in the future, or you will be paid a visit by all of the 7th year boys in Gryffindor, we look out for our own."   
  
"Are you trying to scare me?" Connor hissed at his captor, undaunted by the fact that he was currently outnumbered.

"Just warning you, you mess with my sister, you mess with me."   
  
"Kamen," Nick spoke quietly, "Madame Pince is coming, I think its time we made our exit, come on Dierna," he took Dierna by the arm headed out of the library.   
  
"You have been warned," Kamen growled as he released Connor and followed Nick and Dierna out of the library. As soon as they were out in the hallway he grabbed Dierna, "what the hell was going on in there?! I want an explanation now!"   
  
"Don't blame me for what happened in there Kamen!" Dierna narrowed her eyes at him.   
  
"I'm not," Kamen towered over her, "but if I'm going to get myself into trouble for beating the crap out of him I want to make damn sure that it's for a good reason."

* * *

Nimue prepared herself for the next wave of visions; she realized that when she was ready for them the searing pain that she had grown to expect wasn't as bad.   
  
_This time Nimue recognized the landscape as southern Britain. The visions moved much more quickly this time and she subconsciously knew that it was because they were a part of her whereas Kalliope's history had come from the priestess. She saw a group of white robed women offering flowers to a crude statue of a woman; she recognized a peace to the land that was disrupted by the coming of foreign soldiers.   
  
Nimue gave in to more tears as she saw the destruction that followed the legions that came upon the scene. She cursed the eagles of Rome as they brought destruction to her homeland, and she felt pride when her people fought back. She smiled through her tears when a golden haired woman wearing a heavy gold torque rode her chariot into battle against the Roman occupiers. She wept tears of joy when the queen of her people won battles, and those tears turned to sorrow when the Roman soldiers defeated her army._   
  
_She watched as the invaders from the south began to relinquish their claim to her country and the simply robed women resumed their worship of the goddess. Nimue felt her heart twist with pity for these women, she knew that hardship did not lay far off, and it entered the vision in the form of dark robbed hermits. These men desecrated the alters of the goddess in the name of their god.   
  
"It's shameful that men always have to claim their dominance over women, even goddesses," Kalliope's soft voice cut through the scene. Nimue couldn't help but agree. The women had only been worshiping their deity peacefully...  
  
She watched as one woman, with soft brown hair and violet eyes stepped forward. Nimue gasped as she focused on this leader whose looks were so similar to her own. She watched in awe as the woman raised her arms to the heavens, and crying out in an ancient language brought down the mists to obscure the island of the priestesses, Avalon they called it.   
_  
_ Nimue watched as time moved forward and one woman, also so similar to herself, left the island with a wizened old man, she traveled with him, far from her home, to a land of rocky cliffs, she was handed over to a man, Nimue watched as that man went into battle, and was killed. The conqueror returned and claimed the woman from Avalon as his own. She watched as that woman's belly swelled with child, and when the child was born the woman whispered a name, 'Arthur'.   
  
She watched as the women of the isle of Avalon continued to worship their goddess, time occasionally interrupted by the wars of men. She watched as a woman left the misty isle, and not turning back she walked away from it._   
  
"And that was the last woman from your family to have the gift of visions until you Nimue," Kalliope looked into the girl's large, violet eyes as she broke off the connection, "now, what have you learned?"   
  
Nimue looked at the priestess through her tears, "women have suffered at the hands of men for all of time, we may fight back but we seem to always be defeated."   
  
"No! We are not always defeated, it is important that you remember that child, otherwise nothing we do here will be important!"

* * *

Dierna faced her angry brother, hands on her hips, not at all daunted by the way he was towering over her, "I'm not asking for you to do anything about Connor, I can take care of myself!"   
  
Kamen frowned down at her, "I know you think you can take care of yourself, but when I catch some Slytherin creep trying to grope my little sister, and she does nothing to defend herself I get a little upset!"   
  
"Do you not remember that detention I got for punching him?! I can defend myself against him!"   
  
"You may think you can, but I'm not taking any chances!"   
  
"What are you two arguing about now?" their father's stern voice interrupted them as he took in Dierna's pale features and Kamen's angry look he had a feeling that he wouldn't get a straight answer.   
  
"Nothing," they mumbled together, confirming Severus' suspicions about getting a good answer out of them.   
  
He looked between the two of them for a moment, and deciding that Dierna looked like she had definitely been getting the worst of it decided to work on her first, "Dierna, I would like to talk to you about our project, come with me." Severus led her away and took the books from her arms as he led her down to the dungeons. "Now, would you care to tell me exactly what was going on?"   
  
"Not really..."  
  
"Dierna, what happened?"   
  
Dierna sighed, "Kamen just walked in on Connor giving me a hard time so he decided to yell at me about how I'm defenseless, it was nothing."   
  
"If it was nothing then why are you so upset and why are you trying to convince me that you are not upset?"   
  
Dierna glared at her father in response, he read her far too well sometimes.   
  
"Well? I'm still waiting for an answer."

* * *

Kalliope cupped Nimue's jaw in her hand, "child, just because we are women does not mean we are defenseless."  
  
Nimue's voice was choked with tears, "but if we are not defenseless then why did I see all that suffering in the visions, if we are not defenseless why did I watch you get raped twice?!"  
  
Kalliope sighed, "Because, there is still evil in the world, and as long as there is evil in men then they will commit evil acts. Yes, some women will be hurt, and yes, we will suffer, but we grow from it. Yes, I have been raped twice, and I watched as my daughter was murdered, but I still know how to love. Child, you will face pain and suffering, as many other women have before you, but you will learn how to face life everyday, and you will thank the goddess that you are alive, no matter how much your heart is hurting, because you will still have the ability to love."   
  
Nimue tried to blink back her tears; she wanted to prove that she could be as strong as this priestess if she needed to.   
  
Kalliope smiled in approval as she watched Nimue try to regain control of her emotions, "now child, how much about your bloodline do you understand?"   
  
"Not much," she thought back to what she had seen and her eyes widened as a thought struck her, "am I related to King Arthur?"   
  
Kalliope laughed softly, "It would certainly appear that way. You come from a long line, a royal line that is not that dissimilar to my own. Now, as far as your lineage is concerned I recognized several very important women, namely, queen Boudicca, the first Lady of the Lake, Arthur's mother, and the last woman in the vision, was a descendant of Mordred of the line of Arthur and Merlin."  
  
"Of the line of Arthur and Merlin?" Nimue asked, her brow furrowed.   
  
Kalliope shrugged, "Arthur's mother was fathered by Merlin, but the men aren't as important as the women in this case," she frowned slightly, "the priestess of Avalon would probably love to get their hands on you with your lineage, if you had been trained there from an early age they'd probably have you set up to be the next high priestess..."

* * *

Dierna sat back in a chair in front of her father's desk and wondered when this interrogation was going to stop; she glared at him, making her displeasure at this interference into her personal life more than clear.   
  
Severus leaned against his desk as he observed his daughter, "glaring at me is not going to end this conversation." He sighed when she only narrowed her eyes further, "I'm assuming that since Connor is involved in this he tried to do something to you, am I correct?"   
  
"Why don't you just let me handle this on my own?!" Dierna snapped at him. She watched as her father's mouth twitched slightly, but she couldn't tell if it was from amusement or anger at the way she had answered him.   
  
Severus nearly smiled at her angry tone; she was most definitely his daughter. He quickly turned serious again, "has that boy done anything to you?"   
  
"That's none of your..."  
  
"Answer me Dierna! It is most certainly my concern, and I want to know what happened."   
  
Dierna lowered her head, "he probably would have tried something but Kamen and Nick showed up so he didn't have a chance," she whispered in one quick breath.   
  
Severus fought the growing rage he felt towards young Macnair. That anger would not be any help to him right now. He pushed himself away from his desk and moved to stand in front of his daughter. When she refused to lift her head to look at him he knelt in front of her and placing two long fingers under her chin he gently brought her face around so he could look in her eyes, "you are better than this Dierna. I know that you are capable of rising to any challenge set before you, but do not see Connor's advances as a challenge. You are not an object; do not let him treat you that way!"   
  
Dierna met his gaze unflinchingly, "I won't."   
  
"Good, you don't deserve to be treated that way, you deserve much better than that child."   
  
Dierna jerked her head back, trying to escape her father's grasp and the concerned look in his eyes. She didn't like it when he worried about her like this; it meant he wasn't going to leave her alone.   
  
Severus recaptured her chin in his grasp, "Dierna, do not confuse stubbornness with bravery. I don't want to see you get hurt and I can't help feeling that you are setting yourself up for destruction if you keep on like this. Please, don't wander around by yourself and don't give Connor any excuse to try something."   
  
"I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, I am not a child."   
  
"Then act like it," Severus lightly cuffed her on the back of the head, earning him another frown.

* * *

Sophia let William lead her around the maze of hallways and classrooms that was Hogwarts. She listened intently to his descriptions of the different rooms, trying to memorize every aspect of this castle. She didn't know how long she would be here, and it still felt almost like a dream being away from the temple like this. She wanted to memorize every detail.   
  
The only major incident they had encountered was when Nearly Headless Nick had come floating through the wall and Sophia had immediately started peppering him with questions concerning the river Styx and the captive daughter of the goddess.   
  
It had taken William quite awhile to sort out that conversation and the dialogue that had followed. Sir Nicholas had been very flattered over the interest Sophia had shown in him, and William had to work to drag the two of them apart, finally insisting that he had to finish showing Sophia around.   
  
"I was enjoying that conversation," Sophia tossed her head as she confronted William.   
  
William fought the strong temptation to roll his eyes at her commanding nature. He was beginning to think that this girl was more trouble than she was worth, but her regal demeanor was rather amusing. "I just thought you might like to see the Gryffindor common room and meet some of my friends."   
  
As he had hoped that distracted Sophia from her temporary tirade and she started chattering away again. William only half listened to her, as they paused in front of the portrait of the fat lady.   
  
"Why are we here?" Sophia interrupted her own prattling as she looked at William inquiringly.   
  
"Just watch," William replied, and then he spoke the password, "Pemberly."   
  
Sophia's eyes widened as the portrait swung open revealing the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. William led her in and they were immediately surrounded by Kamen, Nick, and a group of 7th year boys.   
  
Sophia didn't catch all the boys' names but she was definitely enjoying the attention they were lavishing on her. She found herself grinning widely; she hoped the rest of the trip would be like this.

William sat back and smiled as watched Sophia interact with the boys. From what he had gathered from their conversations while he was showing her around she wasn't used to being around members of the opposite sex like this. He was very close to laughing at the way she alternated between blushing furiously and being verbally caustic when the boys went a little too far with their teasing.   
  
William turned when someone came up behind him and wrapped their arms around his neck, "hey Dierna, how's it going?" Kamen's sisters treated him like he was their brother too, and he teased and baited them almost as much as Kamen did.   
  
Dierna leaned over his shoulder, "I've just escaped from the most overprotective parent ever, do you know how long it took for me to sneak out of the dungeons?"   
  
Kamen grabbed his sister from behind, "so, did Dad agree with me about the fact that you need someone else to help you deal with that sewer rat Connor?"


	34. Chapter 34

Kalliope realized very quickly that she had absolutely no idea where she was. She had left Nimue only a short while ago, deciding that she had probably traumatized the poor girl enough for one day, there would be time enough to teach her all that she needed to know later.   
  
She smiled at the moving portraits on the wall; this certainly was an interesting place. She realized that any of the subjects of the portraits could probably tell her where she was and where she needed to go, but she was content to explore for now.   
  
She headed farther down into the castle, approaching the dungeons. It was cooler down here and she rubbed her arms, thinking wryly that this damnable British weather might just be more than she could handle.   
  
She barely noticed as several students hurried past her, giving her curious looks. Her thoughts were running rampant, she was still trying to come to terms with the fact that she was really here, that she had left the relative safety of her temple. But she was here with Remus...

A small sigh left her lips as she thought of Remus; she had learned to care for him all those years ago. And she realized that just maybe those sentiments that she had thought were love might have only been the hopeless crush of a girl who had suffered too much for one as young as she had been. Maybe she had just imagined that he had reciprocated those feelings, but part of her cried out, telling her those feelings had been real, and she hope that they had been, and that maybe, just maybe, she and Remus might now have the chance to pick up where they had left off.   
  
She was so lost in her thoughts that she nearly ran into a dark figure coming from the opposite direction.   
  
"A bit lost priestess?" Severus asked with a slight smirk as Kalliope nearly walked into him.   
  
Kalliope was jerked out of her thoughts by his silky voice and she fervently hoped that she wasn't blushing, "I was merely doing a bit of wandering on my own," her voice was low and steady as she answered him, refusing to admit that she had indeed been lost. Her warm brown gaze took in Nimue's father, wondering if he would try to interfere with his daughter's training in any way. She had found him to be a bit cold and judgmental when she had met him a few hours earlier, she decided she might have to do a little research on her own to figure out exactly what she was dealing with here.   
  
Severus raised an eyebrow at the assertion that she wasn't lost, he seriously doubted that, she did look rather lost wandering around down here, "I was heading back up to the staff room, since my help has run out on me, would you care to accompany me?"  
  
Kalliope smiled at the lifeline he threw her, "yes, perhaps I can find Remus up there."

* * *

Morgan heard someone come in the staff room, but she didn't open her eyes. She had fallen asleep on the rather lumpy couch by the window and she didn't feel like getting up yet. The last few days had been incredibly stressful for her, and all she wanted was to escape for awhile.   
  
She hadn't slept well the last few nights, and everything was beginning to catch up with her.   
  
She squirmed slightly when someone lifted her feet up, and sat down on that end of the couch with her feet in their lap. She smiled when that person began to rub her feet.   
  
"That feels wonderful," she purred.   
  
"You need to relax more; the last few days have been really rough on you."   
  
She smiled at the sound of that deep voice and kicked her feet slightly, only to have them slapped. "Hey, that hurt!" she frowned as she grudgingly opened her eyes, squinting in the light.   
  
"Then don't kick me."

Morgan narrowed her eyes, "I'll kick you if I want to _Professor_."

"Now, I just need to try and remember whether or not your feet are ticklish..."  
  
"Remus Lupin, don't you dare!" Morgan sat up and retreated to the other end of the couch, tucking her feet safely beneath her.   
  
"I'll take that as a yes," Remus laughed as he moved toward Morgan.   
  
Morgan tried to get up but Remus caught her and held her firmly with one arm as he reached for her feet, causing her to struggle frantically. Morgan was still trying to fight her way out of his grasp when the door to the staff room opened.

* * *

Serena made her way back towards the Gryffindor common room, Mark had offered to walk her back up but she had declined. She didn't want any of her other house members to give him a hard time. Plus she was feeling a bit sore, and she just wanted to lay down for awhile.   
  
She slipped into the common room, hoping that she could get up to her bedroom without attracting any attention. Thankfully the boys were all busy tormenting a girl she had never seen before. She quickly headed up the stairs towards the girls' dormitory, and wasn't surprised when Dierna followed her.   
  
Serena flopped down on her bed in the 6th year girls' room and waited while Dierna settled on her own bed.   
  
"So..." Dierna looked at her sister expectantly.   
  
"So...?" Serena echoed her.   
  
Dierna rolled her eyes, "did you and Mark..."  
  
Serena tossed a pillow at her sister, "yes."  
  
"And?"   
  
"And what? Come on Dierna, it happened, there's nothing else to talk about."   
  
Dierna groaned as she flopped back on her bed, "I'm not asking for details Serena, I just want to make sure that you're ok with this."

"I'm fine," Serena gathered some clean clothes as she headed towards the bathroom, thinking that a shower would feel amazing right now.

Dierna somehow doubted that her sister was completely fine, but she let it go, "just remember I'm here if you need to talk."

* * *

Kalliope felt her heart plummet when she saw Remus practically on top of another woman. But she instantly relaxed again when she realized that it was Mrs. Snape. She glanced sideways at Severus to see how he would handle this situation and was a bit surprised at how dark his expression had become.   
  
Severus crossed the room and lifted his wife off the couch and deposited her in a nearby chair before turning back to Remus, "I warned you about touching my wife," he growled.   
  
"Sev, lay off, we were just having a bit of fun," Morgan rolled her eyes at how overprotective he was being. Most of the time it was flattering, but sometimes it was just ridiculous.   
  
Severus scowled and turned back to his wife. He offered her his hand and pulled her back out of the chair, and with a curt nod to Kalliope he quickly propelled his wife out of the room.   
  
"Severus, was that absolutely necessary?" Morgan frowned at him.   
  
"You know I hate when you and Remus act like that," was his cold reply.   
  
"Oh Sev..." Morgan sighed. Her husband was so different when there were people around. When they were alone he was playful and loving, never hesitating to kiss or hold her. But when they weren't alone he could be cold and appear very unfeeling. He had never approved of public displays of affection, and Morgan had been asked before if her marriage was in trouble. She sighed again, and he would make a huge thing out of nothing and be so damn overprotective of her sometimes...  
  
"You're mad a me now."   
  
"Sev, I'm not mad at you."   
  
"I just can't stand to see anyone else touching you."   
  
Morgan shook her head and leaned against her husband as they walked, "Sev, are you ever going to learn to ease up?"   
  
"I'm not planning on it," he wrapped his arm around her waist. When they reached the door to their rooms he brushed a feather soft kiss across her temple, "I love you, and I know you think I'm overprotective, but that's something that I cannot help."

* * *

Serena tossed her wet hair over her shoulder as she moved back the bedroom she shared with the other girls; she wasn't at all surprised to see that Dierna was still sitting there.   
  
"So, ready to talk about what's bothering you yet?" Dierna asked.   
  
Serena sighed as she sat down next to Dierna on her bed, "I just don't know what happened."   
  
Dierna raised an eyebrow, "well I could probably tell you want happened..."

Serena smacked her sister with a pillow, "that's not what I'm talking about." She pulled a small vile of a deep blue liquid out of her pocket, "I had this ready, and I completely forgot to take it. Dierna, what if..."  
  
Dierna took the vile from her sister's hand and uncorked it, she held it to her nose and swirled the liquid, "well, first off this wouldn't have done you much good even if you had taken it, it's a very weak contraceptive. Second, it's highly unlikely you would end up pregnant from your first time. You probably have nothing to worry about."   
  
"But what if..."  
  
Dierna cut her sister off, "if   
  
Serena sighed, "Thanks."   
  
"No problem," Dierna recorked the small vile and tossed it on the bed, "and we are definitely going to get you a contraceptive that will work, I found a great one in the restricted section."

* * *

Severus winced slightly as Morgan's elbow connected with his stomach. Until he had married her he would never have thought that anyone could be this restless in their sleep, or such a heavy sleeper. It never failed to amaze him how his tiny wife could take up so much of their bed, at the moment she had him pushed precariously near the edge.   
  
Glancing at the clock by his bed he realized it was little more than an hour before he had to get up anyways. Resigning himself to the fact that he wasn't going to get anymore sleep Severus gently lifted his wife and moved her back to the center of the bed, and then he wrapped his arms around her, hoping that it would keep her still for awhile.   
  
He was surprised when she turned in his arms and opened her eyes; usually it took nothing short of an earthquake to wake her.   
  
"Sev?"   
  
"What is it darling?" Severus ran one hand through her hair while he kept an arm wrapped firmly around her waist.   
  
"Are you really mad at me for playing around with Remus?"   
  
Severus sighed as he buried his face in her hair, "I know you and Remus are good friends..."  
  
"But..."  
  
"But, I still can't stand to see another man touching my wife."   
  
Morgan twined her legs around her husband, "even though it means nothing, and you are the only man I could ever love?"   
  
Severus decided that since his wife was awake it might be best to change the subject and talk to her about a decision he had made during the night, "I'm leaving for Paris tomorrow morning."   
  
"What?!" Morgan sat up, pushing herself away from her husband, "Sev, I don't want you to go, not now."   
  
"I don't have much choice in the matter," he reached for a piece of parchment lying next to the bed, "Eric contacted me again."   
  
Morgan looked at her husband for a long moment, realizing that he was completely serious about going before she took the letter from his hand. She scanned the short contents,   
  
_ Time is short, we must meet now or it may be too late  
O.G._   
  
"Why he still insists on signing his letters like that is beyond me, its completely ridiculous," Severus spoke irritably, "sometimes I wonder if he actually thinks he's a spirit or ghost of some sort instead of a lonely old wizard."   
  
Morgan handed the letter back to her husband, "are you really leaving tomorrow?"   
  
"Yes."   
  
"How long will you be gone?"   
  
Severus pulled her onto his lap, holding her close, "as long as it takes to get the information we need out of Eric, hopefully only a day or two, a week at the most."   
  
"That long?" Morgan pouted slightly. "What about your classes?"   
  
Severus frowned, "I was going to ask Potter to take them, if he thinks he can manage without completely messing things up..."  
  
Morgan leaned against her husband's chest and laughed softly, he still insisted on verbally cutting Harry whenever he had the chance, but he really had learned to have a certain degree of respect for the younger man. But he never showed it. Her husband was the most stubborn person she knew, and their children had inherited that trait. Some days it was enough to drive her over the edge, but sometimes, like now, it only amused her.   
  
"What are you laughing at?" Severus frowned at his wife.   
  
"At you dear," Morgan grinned impishly, only causing her husband's expression to become sterner.

"Why do you get so much pleasure out of teasing me?"   
  
"Because you always rise to the occasion," Morgan gently kissed him. She was pleased when Severus pulled her against him in a crushing grip and kissed her deeply. She relaxed in his grip as his kiss and hands made her melt.   
  
"Now Mrs. Snape, are you going to let me go to Paris to take care of this situation without anymore fuss?"   
  
"Yes," Morgan was breathing heavily, and it took her a moment to realize what she had agreed to, "are you sure you don't want me to come with you?"   
  
"Very sure, I have no intention of ever taking a woman into Eric's lair."

* * *

Harry gazed at the letter the familiar grey owl had dropped in his lap. The thin spidery script that he knew so well stared up at him, rendering him completely speechless.   
  
"Anything wrong Harry?" Sirius asked from his spot next to him at the staff table in front of the Great Hall.   
  
"I don't think so," Harry frowned slightly as he opened the letter, trying to figure out what this meant, he wasn't sure if he should be worried or relieved.   
  
He read through the letter from his wife quickly, and then he read it a second time, and a third. The tone of this letter was so much more... congenial, than he had become accustomed to. He frowned, trying to figure out what had caused this change.   
  
"You sure nothing is wrong?" Sirius pressed him, noticing his god- son's distressed expression.  
  
Harry's voice held a note of wonder, "Ginny wanted to know if I would be coming home sometime this week..."  
  
"So, that's a good thing, isn't it?"   
  
Harry slowly shook his head, "yeah, it is, I just don't know what to do."   
  
"Go home to your wife."   
  
Harry sighed, "I can't," he held up two other notes, "Severus wants me to cover his classes while he goes to Paris for some reason this week, and Minerva has asked that all staff remain at the school next weekend, something about a new security measure we are bringing in."   
  
"Minerva mentioned something to me about the additional security she's bringing in, but if you need to go home she'll understand." Sirius looked at his god-son with obvious concern in his eyes. He truly wanted Harry's marriage to work out; it looked like Ginny was taking a step in the right direction, he wondered if Harry would make the same effort.   
  
Harry lay the letter next to his plate, his hand lingering over it for a moment, "no, I need to be here right now. We have to make sure the students are safe."  
  
Sirius sighed; he thought that both Harry and Ginny were not trying as hard as they could to make this work, in his opinion the couple was in need of a serious attitude adjustment. He turned to Remus who was on his other side and currently engaged in a rather heated discussion with Kalliope.   
  
"I don't want you running yourself ragged while you are here, you need to rest. Training Nimue is going to take enough out of you; you don't need to be calling up visions for Rheia on top of that."   
  
Kalliope frowned at him, "how did you know about that?" she demanded to know.   
  
Remus frowned right back at her, "Sophia told me you stayed up half the night calling up visions."   
  
Kalliope shot an irritated look in the direction of her young ward and then turned back to Remus, "that is my concern Remus."   
  
Remus didn't back down from the angry priestess, "just what is so important that you need to stay up all night when you have important work to do during the day?"   
  
Kalliope was bristling, "I have been following the movements of a man through the visions for months now, and I have reason to believe that he may be a key figure in the events that are to come."  
  
"And who is this man?"

"It is the man who lacks a face."


	35. Chapter 35

Stefan gathered his cloak close around him as he stepped into the swirling morning mist. He felt cold, and it wasn't just from the chill wind that whistled around him. The longer this mission went on the more dangerous it became and the more likely it was that Macnair and Malfoy would figure out why he was really here. It terrified him. P  
  
Stefan couldn't help thinking that the heavy mist and the overcast sky as he approached the battered manor house made this seem almost like the setting of a bad muggle horror movie. And what he had seen happen within those musty walls would certainly fit into a horror scenario.   
  
He shuddered as he pressed his hand against the rusty cold iron of the front gate, it creaked open slowly under his touch. He couldn't help thinking that the freezing metal beneath his hand was as cold and solid as Malfoy's heart, and just as merciless.   
  
A hand clamped down on Stefan's shoulder in an unbreakable grip, which made him whip his head around to see his captor.   
  
"You're a little jumpy this morning MacNeill," Walden Macnair sneered with a unreadable expression on his face.   
  
"I just wasn't expecting anyone else to be here this early," Stefan recovered quickly, and it was partly true. Although his heightened state of fear came more from the man who was still holding his shoulder than anything else.   
  
"Why don't we go inside," Macnair suggested, "our leader has a new plan for figuring out the information we need to know to bring back Voldemort."   
  
"And what is that plan?"   
  
Macnair smiled darkly, "we start experimenting.

* * *

"Have you seen my wife anywhere Lupin," Severus' tone was far from pleasant.   
  
Remus shook his head, "no I haven't."   
  
Severus' scowl darkened.   
  
"What's the matter, lovers' quarrel?" Remus teased.  
  
Severus chose not to respond to that. Morgan had been upset that morning when another pregnancy test had come up negative. She had taken out her frustration on him, and now Severus was regretting how short he had been with her when what she had really needed was his support.   
  
Before either of the men could say anything Kalliope and Morgan came around the corner together. The two women had formed a fast friendship after the very short amount of time they had spent together and had spent most of the morning in conversation. Kalliope had been thoroughly amused when Morgan had described how Remus would flirt with her just to get Severus mad.   
  
Kalliope had surprised herself by sharing with Morgan how she felt about Remus. The two women had an amazing conversation, with Morgan wanting to know the detail's of their relationship and encouraging Kalliope to continue her relationship with the werewolf.   
  
"Morgan, we need to talk," Severus approached his wife a bit warily, not sure if she was still mad at him.   
  
"We don't need to do anything Severus, I have a class to get ready for," Morgan snapped at him.   
  
"Why don't we leave them alone for awhile," Remus suggested quietly as he led Kalliope aside, "and you can tell me a little bit more about this 'man without a face' that you have been watching."   
  
Kalliope shrugged, "there's not much to tell. I know little about him except that his face has been severely damaged. I have seen him in only limited environments, usually in what appears to be an indoor forest and a couple times in a room of mirrors with a strange silver tree with a noose hanging from it."

Severus spun around when he overheard Kalliope's description. His eyes locked with Remus' and the two men shared a long look.   
  
Remus looked shocked, "Do you think it's..."  
  
Severus nodded, "Who else would have a mirror of rooms like that? It has to be Eric."   
  
Kalliope looked confusedly between the two men, "who is this Eric?"   
  
Severus frowned, "he is an absolute genius, a lunatic, but a genius. I'm going to see him tomorrow, he has information that we need."

"I'm going with you."   
  
Severus looked down in shock at the Greek woman standing in front of him. The priestess had her hands on her hips and was looking up at him formidably, as though daring him to tell her no. "You most certainly will not be going with me," Severus shot back coldly.   
  
"I will go with you, this is temple business, and is something that I must oversee."

"Kalliope," Remus ventured carefully, "why do you feel that it is necessary for you to go?"   
  
Kalliope's hard gaze softened a bit as it came to rest on the werewolf, "Remus, I have been watching him in the visions for year and I knew that he was important, that he holds a great deal of information that is thought to be lost, but I had no clue as to who he was. It would appear that the goddess has led me here to people who can take me to him. It is imperative that I meet with him; he may have information that will help save my people. The tribes of Greece are disappearing; I must do everything in my power to save them."   
  
"I can't take you Kalliope," Severus spoke down to her, "Eric's... home... is no place for a lady."

"Well then it's a good thing I'm not a lady, I'm a priestess," Kalliope replied curtly.

* * *

Dierna frowned at the letter in her hand. She had read it over and over again since she had received it that morning, but it still wasn't telling her what she wanted it to. She figured that if Stefan wasn't allowed to write her the least Viviane could do was give her more details about her boyfriend, even though she knew that the Ministry censored her sister's letters she could at least try. She sighed despondently; she longed to feel Stefan's arms around her again.   
  
Nick reached over and plucked the letter out of her hand, he skimmed the contents and shot a sideways glance at Dierna, "so, are you going to be in a bad mood all day just because your sister didn't give you any news about Stefan?"

"It's not funny Nick," Dierna shoved herself away from the table and made her way out of the Great Hall.   
  
Nick cursed himself under his breath; he hadn't meant to upset her like that. He absently wondered if he had picked a bad time of month to tease her, that tended to be one of the drawbacks of having girls for best friends. He ran after her and caught her in the hallway, he grabbed her arm, "Dierna, I didn't mean that the way it sounded. Are you ok?"   
  
Dierna tried to wrench her arm out of Nick's grasp, "just leave me alone right now."   
  
"I will not leave you alone when you're this upset," Nick loosened his grip on her arm and pulled her into a tight hug. "Never give up sweetie, Stefan loved you too much to ever abandon you. He will come back to you yet, don't give up hope."

* * *

Stefan felt as though he was almost ready to give up. The situation seemed hopeless. He averted his eyes from the ghastly scene before him. Macnair was holding a muggle girl with her arms pinned behind her back, a knife pressed to her throat. Stefan guessed that she couldn't be more than 18 years old, but Macnair had found her living on the streets of muggle London, attempting to sell her body. He knew that no one would miss her if she disappeared.   
  
Draco stood in front of the girl and took her chin roughly in his hand, "such a pretty little thing, it's a pity you're more use to us dead than alive, otherwise I might keep you around a little longer." He pressed his mouth over hers and kissed her with bruising strength, as he pulled away to observe his handiwork he was pleased to note that her mouth was already starting to swell from the roughness of his touch. "On the other hand, I doubt you have the kind of talent that I am used to."   
  
Macnair grinned maliciously, "Shall we do it then?"   
  
Draco waved a hand a Macnair's direction as he swept out of the room, "go ahead, we know that the spell required to bring back Voldemort will require a human sacrifice, we might as well just try till we get it right."   
  
Macnair tightened the grip on the knife in his grasp and led the girl out of the room. Stefan dropped his head and was sure that he was going to be sick.  
  
Severus was still trying to figure out how he had let himself be talked into taking that damnable priestess with him to Paris. He had loudly declared that if Eric laid a hand on her he wouldn't be held responsible. But not even the threat of Eric had been enough to deter Kalliope, she insisted on going. He glanced into the mirror in front of him so that he could see his wife who was sitting behind him; he wasn't sure how well she liked this situation.   
  
Morgan was perched on the claw footed bench that matched her vanity in her and Severus' bathroom. She watched her husband get ready for bed with ill concealed impatience. She desperately wanted to talk to him, but wanted to wait until he noticed her.   
  
Severus left the bathroom without giving his wife a glance, she stood up and trailed after him, her hands clasped behind her back. Morgan couldn't tell if he was ignoring her, or merely lost in thought. She smiled when he sat on the edge of the bed and reached out for her, pulling her to stand between his legs.   
  
"Are you mad at me darling?" Severus murmured into his wife's soft hair.   
  
"Why would I be mad at you?" Morgan pushed away from her husband slightly so that she could look him in the face.   
  
"Because I'm taking the priestess to Paris with me."   
  
Morgan shrugged, "I trust you Sev, I have no reason to worry or be mad at you."   
  
"Then why have you been sulking around here, following me around all evening?" Severus pulled his wife against him; he loved the way her soft, warm, little body felt in his arms.   
  
Morgan blushed, and was glad that her face was buried in her husband's shoulder so that he couldn't see it. His favorite sport was trying to make her blush; it amused him to no end, especially since his efforts usually worked. "I felt bad about being such a brat this morning to you. I shouldn't have taken out my frustration on you."   
  
Severus chuckled softly as he lay back on the bed, pulling his wife down with him, "I was afraid I had upset you, I'm glad that you aren't mad at me."   
  
Morgan smiled mischievously, "Oh don't worry Sev darling, I'll make sure you know if I'm really mad at you."

Severus shook his head, "you little imp..." he pulled her down and kissed her until it was all Morgan could do to lay sprawled across her husband's chest breathing heavily.   
  
"I take it you enjoyed that," she tried to frown at him and failed miserably.   
  
"Probably not nearly as much as you did judging from the way you're blushing Mrs. Snape."   
  
Morgan's face only flamed brighter at that observation, causing her husband to laugh as he rolled over, pinning his wife to the mattress beneath him, "I love you."

* * *

Kalliope bent over the silver mirror that she had laid on the floor. It wasn't quite as powerful as the bronze basin she used for calling visions in the temple, but it worked well enough.   
  
She sprinkled water over the mirror, and then waved her hand over it, "show me Rheia," she commanded in the low, authoritative tone of a priestess.   
  
Rheia's face appeared before her, and Kalliope knew that the old priestess could see her as well, "what is it that you want child," Rheia asked, through the connection made by the visions.   
  
"I go tomorrow to seek out the faceless man, the one I have described to you."   
  
Rheia nodded, "I have seen that you will meet him, but be wary, for he is dangerous. Now tell me of the girl you are to train."   
  
"She is powerful; Avalon would have great use for her. The Lady Sianna is not yet old, but she has yet to name an heir, perhaps the girl should be sent there."   
  
"No! The girl must not go to Avalon."   
  
Kalliope frowned, "but she is of their line, they might be able to give her the training she deserves..."  
  
"No!" Rheia's face grew angry, "if she is as powerful as that then she must be kept for us, we have need of her power."   
  
"This child is special, I don't want to see her get hurt," Kalliope didn't want to cross the old priestess, but she wasn't sure if this was the best course of action.   
  
The image of Rheia in the mirror sighed, "Child, you know better than any other that sometimes we must hurt those we are closest to in order to promote the good of the whole. I do not wish for any harm to come to the child but our ways are dying out. I have sworn to protect the old ways, and I will do whatever is necessary to make sure that they continue."   
  
"I understand mother."   
  
"Good, now do everything in your power to make sure that the girl remains loyal to our side, it is imperative."   
  
"I will try my best."

Rheia frowned, "make sure that your best is good enough child, we need all the help we can get to ensure that our ways do not die out."


	36. Chapter 36

"Morgan, wake up darling," Severus breathed against his wife's neck. But Morgan only snuggled closer against him without waking up. Severus sighed and tried again as he sat up, "Moran, sweetheart, wake up for me." He laughed softly when his wife curled herself around his abandoned pillow as she remained sound asleep.

Giving up, Severus decided that he wasn't going to get to tell his wife goodbye before he left for Paris. He got dressed and gathered together the small bag he was taking with him. He quickly scribbled a note on a spare piece of parchment and left it on his wife's pillow next to her, and gently kissed her before he left the room.   
  
Severus made his way down the hallway towards the priestess' rooms, hoping that she was ready to go. Not that he was overly pleased with the situation, but the company would be nice.   
  
The door to the priestess' rooms was open, and Severus hesitated a moment before entering. He wasn't surprised to see Remus leaning against the wall by the door, and he joined the other man, "is she ready?"   
  
Remus grinned, obviously amused by something, "yes, she's just giving some last minute... instructions."   
  
As if on cue Kalliope and Sophia entered the room, the girl looked annoyed and not very happy about the number of rules the priestess was laying down. "I mean it Sophia," Kalliope raised her voice slightly, "no wandering around by yourself; don't make me send you back to the temple. Are you listening to me?"   
  
"Yes!" Sophia frowned.   
  
"Don't talk to me like that. Now, I don't want you calling up any visions without me here to supervise. And I want you to stick close to Nimue; you are nearly a priestess, though the goddess knows you are certainly not acting like it now. If Nimue has anymore visions while I'm gone you know enough to help her through them, you know how painful they can be if you don't know what to expect. And you better be on your best behavior while I'm gone. Remus will be keeping an eye on you for me," Kalliope nodded in the direction of the werewolf where he was still leaning against the wall, "and I told him to deal with you as he sees fit if you get out of line."   
  
Sophia rolled her eyes; if she had to listen to Kalliope nag her for much longer she didn't think she would be able to handle it. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."   
  
"I don't doubt that, but I hate leaving you here alone when we haven't been here that long," Kalliope frowned slightly, "you're sure that it won't bother you if I leave you here?"

"Yes! Would you leave already?!"   
  
"Alright," Kalliope looked reluctant, she reached out and embraced her ward, "be good and listen to Remus, and don't go wandering alone by yourself." She turned to Severus, "I'm ready to leave now professor."   
  
Severus had been trying very hard not to smile throughout the whole exchange between Kalliope and her young charge; he didn't envy Remus the task of looking after that girl.   
  
He led Kalliope out into the hall and they started down toward the main entrance to Hogwarts. They walked in silence until they were outside, each lost in their own thoughts.   
  
"How are we traveling to Paris?" Kalliope looked up at her traveling companion, wandering if he was going to be this silent and cold looking for the entire trip.   
  
"As soon as we get outside the gates we will apparate there."   
  
"And where will we be staying?"   
  
"There is a wizarding café near the opera house that rents rooms, we will stay there."   
  
Kalliope wasn't overly happy with the short answers she was getting, she wanted more information, "We won't be staying with Eric then?"   
  
Severus made a sound of disgust, "not unless you want to stay below the Paris opera house in what has to be the most dismal living arrangements ever."   
  
"Is it as bad as that? And I want to know more about this Eric that we are meeting with."   
  
Severus shrugged, "Eric has killed more men then I care to think about in his lair, it's not the most pleasant place. As for Eric himself... there's not that much to tell. Some muggle author immortalized him as the harasser of chorus girls, as some ghost lacking a nose, but most of that is complete nonsense."   
  
"But what is the truth behind the man?"   
  
"He is a genius. He is the most brilliant potions master of his generation, and his is a very formidable dueling partner. But he can and has killed without giving it a second thought, do not cross him."

* * *

Rheia paced in the inner sanctuary, her attendant priestesses standing off to the side. She couldn't remember ever feeling this... helpless, in all the years she had lived.   
  
"You asked for me?" Cadmus appeared in the doorway.   
  
Rheia squinted through the dim light to see him; her vision was beginning to fail her. She sighed at that thought, both her physical sight and her ability to see visions were leaving her, her life force was fading. "Yes Cadmus, I need your advice."   
  
Cadmus smiled widely, showing his white teeth through his dark beard, "then it must be something very serious, or very trivial, if you would condescend to ask a man for help."

Rheia smiled weakly at him, she felt so old, "I need Kalliope to come back, will you get her for me?"   
  
"Why don't you simply do whatever it is that you priestesses do to contact her?"

"I can't Cadmus, I was able to talk to her very recently, but I tried to set up a contact today, and I could only get darkness. I need her here; she is the only one who can take my place."   
  
"I thought that what she is doing in Britain is important," Cadmus had never seen this high priestess ask for help before.   
  
"It is, it may be the only thing that can save our way of life, if the visions I have had are real. But I don't know anymore, the visions I have had may be false, I can't always call them up, and they are so dim now," Rheia shook her head sadly, "I need Kalliope, she needs to come back to be the head priestess, she is already my chief oracle, but she needs to take over the rest of my duties, before I am gone."   
  
"Surely you will not die soon Lady, you who have seen the heroes of Troy will surely live for many more years," Cadmus tried to stall her; Kalliope still had work to do.   
  
"No Cadmus, I will die, the shades of death are calling me."

* * *

Morgan blindly reached out for her husband, but he wasn't there. She frowned without opening her eyes as her fingers slid across his pillow and closed around a small piece of paper. She pushed herself up on one elbow and unfolded the note that was written in her husband's bold hand. She smiled to herself at the light tone of his note, knowing that it was a side of her Sev that his students never saw:   
  
_Darling, you are the most impossible person to wake up. Honestly, a man should be able to expect a proper goodbye from his wife and should not have to resort to stealing a kiss from a woman who sleeps as soundly as the dead. What am I going to do with you? Please attempt to behave yourself while I'm in Paris, and stay away from Lupin, I don't trust him when he's around you. Take care of yourself my darling; I will be home within a week, I love you_

_ Your Severus _  
  
"Oh Sev, I'm sorry I didn't wake up for you," Morgan murmured to herself as she held the note to her lips before sliding it beneath her pillow. She groaned as she looked over at the clock, she rushed out of bed and hoped that she wouldn't be late to the short staff meeting that Minerva had requested before classes started for the day.   
  
Morgan moved much more quickly than she usually did in the morning, a small smile played at her lips as she thought about how her Sev usually distracted her from getting ready. She sighed with relief when she entered the staff room and saw that several of the other teachers had not yet arrived, including Minerva. She took a seat between Sirius and Remus and greeted them warmly, noticing that Sirius didn't quite look like he was awake yet.   
  
"Well Lupy, what is this meeting about? I wasn't paying very close attention when Minerva told us about it last night."   
  
"I noticed," Remus commented dryly as he shook his head at Morgan in mock exasperation, "you were far too busy trying to annoy your husband."   
  
Morgan grinned wickedly, "but its so much fun. Really, if you were married to Sev wouldn't you use every opportunity you had to try and aggravate him?"   
  
"That question is far too disturbing for me to even dignify it with an answer," Remus laughed, "but, to answer your first question; Minerva is going to inform us of the new safety precautions the school is implementing. She's taking the new threats to the school's safety very seriously."   
  
"Any ideas on what she has in mind?" Morgan absently twirled a curl around her finger as she tucked her feet underneath her.   
  
Remus nodded in Charlie's direction, "he's really excited about it, I think it has something to do with dragons."   
  
"Really?" Sirius leaned forward, entering the conversation, "too bad Hagrid isn't around anymore, he would have loved to be able to help out with the dragons. But I wonder if they might bring in some extra help, I'd imagine that having multiple full-grown dragons around might be more than even our enthusiastic Care of Magical Creatures professor can handle."  
  
"For shame Sirius, I'm disappointed that you doubt my abilities," Charlie made his way over smiling. "But, I am getting a bit of help. I talked to some of the people I worked with in Romania and they're sending a kid over, he just graduated from an American school and they tell me that he's one of the best dragon handlers they've ever seen."  
  
"So, what are the dragons going to be used for?" Morgan asked as she made herself more comfortable, moving her feet to Remus' lap.  
  
"We're going to feed the Slytherins to them..." Sirius began, earning him a playful smack from Morgan.  
  
"Watch the Slytherin bashing Sirius," she warned good naturedly.  
  
"Why should I? You were a Gryffindor Mrs. Snape; I didn't think you'd mind."  
  
"True enough, but I have to live with one of them. Now stop interrupting Mr. Black or I'll tell Elizabeth," Morgan smiled, "Charlie, are the dragons going to be used to reinforce protections around the gates?"  
  
Charlie nodded, "and around the Forbidden Forrest. Although no one can apparate into the school we've had problems in the past with people sneaking in around the other defenses."

* * *

Kalliope looked around her in interest as they walked down a wide paved street, Severus had handed her a long grey coat to cover the thin robes of a Greek priestess that she still wore, and she was grateful for its warmth. "I've never spent much time in the muggle world before..." she murmured as they hurried past several shops and restaurants. She paused briefly in front of a store window of shoes; she pressed her fingers tentatively to the glass and leaned forward, her breath fogging on the cool window.  
  
"A bit different than you're used to?" Severus asked not unkindly as he moved the priestess along, there was no point in delaying what they came here for.  
  
"Very different," Kalliope affirmed. "I've only been in the non-magic world a couple of times, and very briefly at that. I've been to a couple of magical communities in Greece for ceremonies and to do some trading, but other than that I have spent my whole life in the temple."  
  
"It must have taken a great deal of courage for you to leave your home and come here to help my daughter."  
  
Kalliope laughed softly, "That and an order from the high priestess, I can't imagine refusing any of her commands."  
  
They both lapsed into silence again as they continued down the street, that was still fairly empty due to the early hour. Kalliope let her eyes wander over the many shop windows, and found herself wondering about the society that reveled in such excess. She was finding it all rather hard to take in.  
  
"Here we are," Severus spoke quietly jerking Kalliope out of her thoughts and back to the present.  
  
Kalliope looked up at the street sign above them and tried the name on it, "Boulevard Montmartre and the Place de la Opera, their names are so strange here..." she glanced up at her companion, "and where is 'here' exactly?"  
  
Severus pointed in front of them and to the left, "the Paris Opera house. A beautiful building, built between 1862 and 1875, designed by Garnier in the Neo-Baroque style."  
  
Kalliope stared up at the enormous structure as they approached it, "it's very... impressive."  
  
Severus took her arm as the climbed the steps to the main entrance, as they came into the entrance hall on the ground floor Kalliope came to an abrupt halt. She gazed at the wide marble steps in front of them and the lavish decorations surrounding them. "It's incredible; I've never seen a building like this before."  
  
"Well, don't get too used to it, we're going down to the cellars and it's nowhere near as pleasant down there. It's dark and rather dreary and there's a wretched underground lake that I strongly suspect Eric has hidden some victims in."  
  
Severus led the way over to a section of wall, which to the naked eye appeared no different than any other part of the entrance hall. He ran his hand over it finding a hidden latch that sprung the wall open, revealing a narrow staircase leading downwards. "This is it, watch your step and be prepared for anything."  
  
As the two of them made their way down the stairs a haunting voice echoed around them, "who dares intrude upon my privacy?"

* * *

"May I walk you up to your classroom?"  
  
"Of course," Morgan replied as Remus took her hand and tucked it into his arm as they left the staff room and headed down the hallway.  
  
Morgan cast a sideways glance at Remus, "you're just trying to get me in trouble, even though Sev isn't here right now he'll find out that you were escorting me around the school."  
  
"My dear Mrs. Snape, do you remember how much trouble you caused me the one year I had you in class? You deserve all the trouble I can get you in." Remus smiled down at her. "Besides, I have to do something while he's off in Paris with the woman I..."  
  
"Love?" Morgan nudged Remus with her shoulder, "good, now you can start to understand how Sev feels when you flirt with me."  
  
Remus laughed, "Point taken, I'll try not to antagonize your husband so much now that I have an idea of how it feels."  
  
"I wasn't trying to get you to stop; Severus is very attentive to me when he thinks you've been flirting with me..."  
  
"That was more than I wanted to know, so I'm now going to tactfully change the subject," Remus pretended to cringe, "what do you think about the dragons? I can't believe that Minerva set up the whole operation so quickly; they should be in place tomorrow. I think the parents will appreciate the added protection."  
  
"Well, speaking as a parent, I can't say that I'm too thrilled with it," Morgan frowned slightly.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Remus, remember that I am using my own children as an example, and remember that they have followed in my footsteps in their complete disregard for school rules. Do you honestly think that my children, who I know have snuck out of the school grounds before, will let a few dragons stand in their way? They'll see it as a challenge, and I do not want to have my children end up being mauled by a dragon that is here to protect them."  
  
Remus smiled, "that fact about you completely disregarding school rules is certainly true. And I see your point, but remember, not all of the children in the school are as... independent as yours."  
  
Morgan laughed, "That was a kind way to put it, '_independent_' indeed, I know that can be more trouble than they're worth sometimes. At least it keeps things entertaining..."

* * *

"I knew he was going to try and pull some ridiculous stunt like this," Severus muttered, then louder, "Damn you Eric! When are you going to learn that the only people that know about this entrance are your friends?!"  
  
"Is that you Severus?" the voice asked, as it echoed around the small stairwell, "Well of course it must be, know one else that knows the way down here is ever this unpleasant. But tell me, who is the lady with you?"  
  
"She is none of your concern Eric, now stop hiding and come out from wherever you're hiding!"  
  
"You could try saying 'please' Severus; didn't you ever learn any manners?" Eric asked as he stepped out of the shadows and dropped the invisibility cloak that he had been concealed under.  
  
Kalliope had to do her best not to gasp when Eric came into view, one side of his face looked like it was... melted. She cast her eyes downward in an attempt not to stare at the deformity.  
  
"This way, this way, let's get started, since you don't have the courtesy to introduce me to your lady friend," Eric went down the rest of the stairs at a fast pace, as Kalliope and Severus followed at a slower rate.  
  
"He had an accident in his potions lab when he was in his early twenties, which is what caused the deformation of his face." Severus whispered to Kalliope.  
  
"Doesn't the magic world have the ability to fix scarring like that?" Kalliope whispered back.  
  
"Yes, but I never wanted it to be fixed," Eric joined them at the base of the stairs, "It has become a part of me. Dumbledore understood my reasons when no one else could; then again, I never met another man quite like Albus..."  
  
"If you're done reminiscing could you just give us the information we came here for?" Severus asked impatiently.  
  
Eric shook his head, "I have very little to actually give you, but I am more then willing to help you figure out the rest of it."  
  
"And what exactly can you give us?"  
  
"A complete list of all the Ministry members who are working towards the return of Voldemort. Don't ask me how I got their names; you really don't want to know," Eric grabbed a candelabra that lit at his touch, and led them down a narrow passageway which opened up into a large area.  
  
Kalliope gasped at the cavernous room they walked into, it was filled by a forest. The trees grew nearly all the way up to the ceiling, which was enchanted to show the sky.  
  
Eric smiled at her reaction, "it is rather amazing isn't it? There are all sorts of plants growing in there, and a number of magical creatures. Due to the terms of my exile I'm not allowed to purchase most potions ingredients, so Albus helped me set up with this forest years ago. It allows me to remain mostly independent, Severus here, who can be quite generous when he feels like it, helps me obtain what I cannot grow or raise."  
  
"It's magnificent," Kalliope took a step towards the forested area.  
  
"Just don't go very far in by yourself," Severus warned, "there are some rather vicious things in there."  
  
"Always the pessimist Severus," Eric shook his head, "there are also many beautiful things in there, such as unicorns, and the Assyrian night lily. We will need both the beautiful and the dangerous to make what you need."  
  
"And what, precisely, is that?" Severus asked, hoping that for one Eric would give him a straight answer.  
  
"It's simple really, Voldemort's followers have figured out the preliminary parts of some ancient magic that would allow them to restore someone who has been issued the dementor's kiss, if they can restore Voldemort he will be more powerful than before. He would be damn near immortal. Ancient magic must be countered with ancient magic, we must figure out how to counter the magic they are using." 


	37. Chapter 37

Dierna rested her head on Nick's shoulder as they finished up lunch, "can I sleep here? You really make a wonderful pillow..."  
  
Nick smiled, "of course, just don't blame me if you fall in a heap on the floor when I stand up."  
  
"That's not very nice Nick; don't you agree with me Serena?"  
  
"Of course," her twin answered from her place on the other side of Nick, "I think we'll have to get even with him..."  
  
"Now girls, be reasonable, I didn't do anything to you," Nick said as he held his hands out in front of his in supplication.  
  
"Nick, you know that's not true, you were obviously baiting me," Dierna replied sweetly, a look of pure innocence on her face that Nick knew better than to fall for.  
  
"It's not nice to try and aggravate people Nick, especially when that person is my twin," Serena put in just as sweetly as her sister.  
  
"Oh no..." Nick didn't like the looks he was getting. In one smooth motion he was up from the table and sprinting out of the Great Hall, with the twins right behind him. Several students from the other houses' tables looked up at the commotion, and most of the Gryffindor girls cheered the twins on in their pursuit of Nick.  
  
Nick shot a quick look over his shoulder as he ran down the hallway, and was shocked and a little scared to see how closely he was being pursued. He took a sharp turn down another hallway and skidded to a halt, barely avoiding knocking Mrs. Snape down.  
  
"Mrs. Snape, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there," Nick stammered, out of breath, before he was nearly knocked off his feet by Dierna and Serena when they came around the corner right behind him.  
  
"No harm done Mr. Wood. Although I would like to know what the three of you are doing, tearing around the halls like this," Morgan eyed the three students in front of her, "on the other hand, I'm not sure I really want to know," she said with a small smile.

"It wasn't anything Mrs. Snape, your daughters just felt that I had stepped out of line, and decided to chase me down," Nick gave a lopsided grin.  
  
Morgan laughed, "yes, that does sound like my little angels. By the way Nick, how are your parents? I haven't talked to them in ages."  
  
"They're both fine ma'am. Mum writes with something to nag me about every week. And Dad says that he'll make it to at least one quidditch match this year."  
  
"You know, you look almost exactly like your father did when he was in school," Morgan's eyes twinkled with amusement, "did you know that the two of us went out for awhile? I was the envy of every girl in Gryffindor house and of quite a few of the girls from the other houses..."  
  
"Mum, we've heard that story a million times!" Dierna rolled her eyes, "we don't need to hear it again."  
  
Morgan shook her head, "really Dierna, you are just about as cheerful as your father," she commented dryly.  
  
Dierna only scowled in reply, and she narrowed her eyes when her mother moved to brush a few strands of hair out of her face.  
  
"Yes, just like your father," Morgan said with a laugh as she took in her daughter's dark expression, "why don't you three run along now, you have class again soon."  
  
Morgan shook her head slowly as her daughters and Nick left, "I hope the three of them can always remain such good friends," she muttered to herself.  
  
"You look like you're in an awfully good mood," Remus commented as he approached Morgan.  
  
She looked up and smiled brilliantly at her friend, "I am, it must be because Severus is gone," she said mischievously.  
  
"I'm telling him you said that," Remus said with a grin.  
  
"And I'll tell him that you flirted with me the whole time he was gone," Morgan shot back.  
  
"I have not!" Remus replied indignantly.  
  
"Ahhhh... but who do you think Sev will believe, you or me?"  
  
"You're positively evil."  
  
"My dear Professor Lupin, that's precisely why I married a Slytherin, it lets my evil side come out more often."  
  
Remus laughed, "Trust me, from what I remember of you as a student, you had no problem letting this 'evil side' out on your own, without the help of any Slytherin.  
  
Morgan shrugged, but was saved the task of replying when Harry joined them.  
  
"I thought you were going to go home for a couple of days Harry," Remus frowned slightly.  
  
"I couldn't, Severus has me filling in for him while he's gone," Harry replied.  
  
Remus' frown only deepened, "you need to go home to your wife, I'm sure something else could be arranged..."  
  
"Its fine Remus, really, circumstances allowing, I'm planning on going home over the weekend."  
  
Although Remus didn't look satisfied with that answer, but he quickly excused himself and went to prepare for his next class.  
  
"Morgan, there is something I would like to ask you about," Harry looked a bit skeptical, although he wasn't sure he should be asking, "but I've been told that you might be able to offer some personal insight on what I can do to fix my marriage, can you help me?"  
  
A look quickly passed over Morgan's face that Harry couldn't quite place, it was almost a cross between grief and anger, but much deeper. Morgan looked down at her hands, which she had clasped in front of her, "Harry, as much as I would like to help I just can't. Not now. There are times when I'm more vulnerable about that subject than others and I... I just can't."  
  
"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to offend you in any way Morgan."  
  
"I know Harry, and I'm not offended. Maybe you could ask Severus about it sometime, I think he is better able to talk about the subject than I am.

* * *

"I can't believe you got Severus to leave," Kalliope said as she helped Eric prepare some dried herbs.  
  
Eric winked at her, "I know how to get him to do what I want, but I think his main concern was leaving you alone with me."  
  
"And why is that?"  
  
Eric smiled, or at least Kalliope guessed he was smiling from the way his eyes were shining, his face was so distorted on the one side that it was hard to tell, "my dear, it is because I have a most amazing reputation. Severus knows the truth behind it, and that is more than enough for him to worry about leaving a beautiful woman such as yourself alone with me."  
  
"And should I be worried?"  
  
"No. I have never taken a woman to bed against her will, and I can clearly see that your heart belongs to another. But, I would at least like to know your name, since Severus was rude enough to leave without providing me with that bit of information, tell me about yourself child."  
  
Kalliope smiled, "my name is Kalliope, and I am a priestess of the mother goddess in Greece."  
  
"And what of your family? Surely a woman such as yourself must have a family." Eric watched as a pained look crossed Kalliope's face, "I am sorry child, if my prying goes to far, just let me know."  
  
"It's alright; it's just that the memories of my family are all painful ones. But, I think that now you should tell me of your family wizard."  
  
Eric laughed, it was a dry and rasping sound, "well it's obvious that you're used to being in charge, there are not many who would tell me what to do with such force. As to my family... there is little to tell. I have a nephew, but he has been dead to me for many years, we've had a few... disagreements... over the years, we currently aren't on speaking terms. And I have a grandson."  
  
"Are your children still living?" Kalliope inquired tentively.  
  
Eric paused in thought for a moment, "I don't believe so, no, I had a daughter, at least I think it was a girl... and she died."  
  
"You're not sure if your child was a daughter?" Kalliope looked completely bewildered.  
  
"It is a bit odd isn't it," Eric mused, "but I never knew her. I was around just long enough to impregnate her mother and that was it. I've never met my grandson either, but I left my fortune in the care of Albus Dumbledore when I was exiled, and when I found out about my little family I instructed him to use it to provide for both of them, when Albus died Severus took charge of the funds."  
  
"Severus does a lot for you, doesn't he?"  
  
"Yes, he is a good man, once you get passed that cold exterior, and he is very protective of the ones he loves. Although I have never had the pleasure of meeting his wife or children, I know that they are his life, without them I don't doubt that Severus would have traveled down a much different path in life. But that is nothing that needs to be discussed here, tell me more about the man in your life..."  
  
"Well," Kalliope began, "he's a werewolf..."

* * *

Serena reached for Mark's hand and gave it a quick squeeze before they went their separate ways after Divination. After a quick promise to meet him later that night she hurried to meet Nick in the Great Hall. She had promised him a game of chess after class, even though she knew that he would beat her.  
  
Nick made a show out of checking his watch and sighing loudly when Serena slid into the seat across from him at the Gryffindor table, "honestly girl, can't you be on time for anything?"  
  
Serena rolled her eyes and tucked a strand of her straight black hair behind her ear, "it's not my fault that the North tower is so far away."  
  
"It's your fault for taking Divination, I'm glad I steered clear of that class. Although I do suspect that a certain Slytherin might have delayed you a bit..."  
  
Serena laughed, a light airy sound that was always music to Nick's ears, "not really, although I did promise to meet him later tonight," she admitted, blushing slightly.  
  
"Alright, enough with the stalling, do you want to be black or white?" Nick asked as he set up the chess board.  
  
"Ummm... black."  
  
"You just don't want to go first," Nick accused.  
  
"Precisely," Serena smiled back at him. As they got into the game Serena remembered why she usually refused to play. Particularly when she lost her first piece only two moves in. She sighed, knowing that this game would be over soon, and hoping that Nick wouldn't make her play again. She was focusing on her next move, trying to decide if there was any way to save her knight when she felt a light touch on her shoulder. She turned to see her mother, and was momentarily grateful for the interruption.  
  
"Have you seen your sister sweetie?"  
  
"Which one?" Serena tried to stall.  
  
Morgan sighed, "You know very well which one. And before you try to cover for her I know that Dierna was not in class this afternoon, as a rather irate Trelawny informed me. Now where is she?"  
  
Serena bit back any excuses she could come up with, knowing that her mother would see right through them, she thought fast, and opened her mouth to speak but was cut off.  
  
"And don't try to tell me that she was in the hospital wing, I already checked with Madame Pomphrey."  
  
Serena frowned, "Mum, I have no idea where she is. After lunch she went back up to the dorms to get her books, but she never showed up to class." Serena opted to tell her mother the truth, even though she was willing to cover for her sister without knowing where she actually was.  
  
Morgan nodded, "alright, I'll go look for her there." As she left the Great Hall she added under her breath, "and that girl better have a damn good excuse for skipping class."  
  
"Were you talking to yourself Madam, or were you perhaps looking for an audience?"  
  
Morgan's hand flew to her chest as she jumped slightly, "Sir Nicholas, you startled me;" she gave a shaky laugh as she recovered herself."  
  
"My most humble apologies Morgan," Nearly Headless Nick bowed to Morgan from where he floated in front of her.  
  
"It's perfectly fine Sir Nicholas, I was just looking for one of my children, and I ended up talking to myself."  
  
"You weren't looking for Kamen now, were you?"  
  
Morgan noticed that Sir Nicholas looked a bit nervous as he asked that question, "no..." she answered hesitantly, "I was looking for Dierna, but from the way you look I have a strong suspicion that I don't want to know why I should be looking for my son."  
  
"Very well then, please forget that I mentioned it. But I believe that Miss Adelaide was in the Gryffindor common room. I would be more than happy to accompany you up there."  
  
"Thank you Sir Nicholas, I would like that."

* * *

Kalliope found that in the few hours she had spent with Eric she had become rather accustomed to his face, or at least as accustomed as one could become to the horrible scarring and twisted features.  
  
Severus had not yet returned, but the priestess had fallen into easy conversation with the wizened wizard. He had been very interested in her life at the temple in Greece, and she had been more than happy to describe as many of the temple activities to him that someone who wasn't an initiate could know. But other than the admission to having a nephew and a grandson Eric had shared little about himself.  
  
"Eric, would you mind terribly if I asked about your exile?"  
  
"Of course not mademoiselle, what do you wish to know?"  
  
"Why are you exiled? You have been a complete gentleman, and you seem to be a very kind and educated man, I'm afraid I don't understand what you could have possibly done to be banished from your homeland."  
  
Eric looked sad for a moment, as though he were reliving his past in his mind. He shook his head, "it is a long story, and not all pleasant. I am afraid that I have killed a few men in my time."  
  
"I would like to hear your story."  
  
"Very well," Eric told Kalliope a story of death and deception, in which he was the victim of circumstances. Kalliope listened with interest, but she couldn't fight back the nagging feeling that some things in Eric's story just didn't quite match up.  
  
Eric finished his tale reached for a bottle sitting near his elbow. He poured some of the dark red contents into a goblet which appeared in his hand, "Will you join me in a friendly drink priestess?"  
  
"Kalliope, we are leaving for the night. Now," Severus had returned, and there was a dark expression on his face.

* * *

Morgan gave the password to the Fat Lady who guarded the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. She paused for a moment in the entry way, a small smile playing across her lips as she remembered her own days as a student.  
  
Morgan was glad to see that none of the students were around at the moment, except for her daughter who was asleep in a chair in front of the fire. Morgan crossed the room, and gently shook her daughter awake, an easy task since Dierna slept as lightly as her father.  
  
"Mum? What are you doing here?" Dierna asked groggily.  
  
Morgan frowned slightly, but knew that she had never been good at playing the part of the strict parent, Severus was much better at it, "I think a better question would be why are you here and why weren't you in class this afternoon?"  
  
Dierna groaned, "I missed class?! Honestly Mum, I didn't mean to. I just came up here to get some books and I sat down to read for a few minutes and I guess I fell asleep..."  
  
Morgan nodded, recognizing that her daughter was telling the truth, "alright, but you need to speak with Trelawny to see what you missed, she was very upset that you missed her class."  
  
"Mum, do I have to?" Dierna whined, "She would have been upset if I had shown up to her joke of a class, she hates me."  
  
"She does not hate you..."  
  
"Mum, she told me I was the worst student she had ever had, both in talent and temperament, she hates me."  
  
Morgan frowned, making a mental note to talk with Minerva about the situation, but she was more concerned about her daughter at the moment. Something just wasn't right. Dierna's grades had always been excellent, but they had been slipping lately. And her already slim daughter had lost enough weight for Morgan to be concerned, and it wasn't like her to sleep during the day. "Dierna, is there anything you want to talk about?"  
  
"No..."  
  
"Dierna, I'm worried about you. I know that something is wrong. Are you worried about Stefan?"  
  
Dierna nodded, "Mum, what am I going to do if he doesn't come back to me?!" she asked desperately.  
  
"Oh sweetheart," Morgan wrapped her arms around her daughter, "you can't think like that. You have to think positively, otherwise you world will come crashing down around you."  
  
Safely wrapped in her mother's arms Dierna poured out her heart, all about how much she loved Stefan, her plans of being with him forever, and all her fears for his safety and their future together.  
  
When Dierna finally finished Morgan continued to hold her for some time. When she finally got up to leave she turned to her daughter with tears in her eyes, "thank you."  
  
"For what?" Dierna looked confused.  
  
"For confiding in me. You don't do it very often, you usually run to your father with your problems. I know that you're closer to him," Morgan silenced her daughter when she tried to protest, "You always have been. But I'm glad you talked to me this time, I love you." With one final embrace and a kiss on the cheek Morgan left, she had a problem of her own to work out. 


	38. Chapter 38

"Why did we leave so suddenly? It was a bit on the rude side." Kalliope didn't look too pleased with her traveling companion at the moment.  
  
"Because you were no longer safe there," Severus replied in a harsh tone, he did not like to have his actions questioned.  
  
"Why? Eric was behaving like a gentleman; certainly better then most of the men I have come in contact with at the temple. He told me why he was exiled, and I feel sorry for him."  
  
"Then he lied to you."  
  
"What?"  
  
"If he made you believe that he was a victim in what happened, then he lied to you."  
  
"Then tell me what really happened," Kalliope stopped in the middle of the street with her hands on her hips, waiting impatiently for an explanation.  
  
"Not here," Severus took her by the arm and propelled her towards the entrance to their hotel, once they reached their rooms he let go of her. "I will tell you why he was exiled, but you must promise me something first."  
  
"What is it?" Kalliope asked warily.  
  
"You must never eat or drink anything that he offers you."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Just promise me that you won't!" Severus was beginning to lose his patience.  
  
"Not until you tell me why!" Kalliope shot back, her own anger rising.  
  
Severus glared at her, and when he realized that the priestess wasn't going to back down he sighed, relenting, "because he has a nasty habit of drugging people."  
  
"What do you mean? Why does he drug people?"  
  
"I'm sure he told you he has never taken a woman to bed without his consent?" Severus waited while Kalliope nodded in agreement, "well a woman will agree to just about anything after he's drugged her. I'm only looking out for your safety."  
  
Kalliope paled a bit, "thank you, but I still don't understand something. Why would he lie to me about his exile?"  
  
"For pity," Severus sank down into an overstuffed chair and waved Kalliope into its mate, "sit down, this takes a bit of explaining. First off, you must understand that Eric is lonely. But that is entirely his own fault."  
  
"And would he really have drugged me to..." Kalliope didn't want to finish that thought.  
  
"Yes," Severus replied, "he has done it before, and I don't doubt that he will continue to manipulate people as long as he can. But to get back to why he is in exile..."

* * *

Charlie Weasley waited by the gates to Hogwarts, scanning the skies as dusk settled over the castle and the surrounding forest. A grin spread across his face as several large figures appeared in the sky. Everything was running on schedule, so far.  
  
His grin widened as the figures became discernable, five dragons and their handlers. The group drew nearer and landed clear of the gates.  
  
Charlie rushed up to the leader of the group, "you must be Zach," he said as he offered his hand to the younger man, "I hope the trip went well for you."  
  
"It went very smoothly, all things considered," Zach took Charlie's proffered hand as he shook his blond hair out of his eyes.  
  
"What have you got here?" Charlie asked, as he eyed the dragons eagerly.  
  
Zach led the way over to the dragons, his grin of delight over working with a species he loved matching Charlie's, "I've got two Hebridean Blacks to put at the main entrance gate here, and three Common Welsh Greens to be used along the border of the Forbidden Forest. And the best team of handlers I've ever worked with."  
  
Charlie eyed the massive beasts appreciatively before turning back to Zach, "you don't look old enough to have much field experience."  
  
Zach shrugged, "I graduated a year ago, I spent most of my time up till now in Australia working with the Antipodean Opaleyes, I got transferred to Scotland about a month ago."  
  
"And where are you from originally? You have an accent."  
  
Zach grinned, a smile that reached all the way to his flashing green eyes, "America, I was born and raised in the states."  
  
Charlie clapped a hand on the younger man's shoulder, "well Zach, I think we'll get along fine here, and I'd be more than happy to have you help with some of my classes. I think between the two of us we could come up with a great unit on dragons."

* * *

"Eric was undoubtedly one of the most brilliant students Hogwarts has ever seen in its more than a thousand years of existence," Severus conjured himself a drink before continuing, "he is particularly adept at making potions, and from what I understand he did a lot of experimenting while he was a student. "During his seventh year of school there was a sudden increase in student illnesses, no one could figure out what was happening, and one student died. Eric eventually told Dumbledore that he had been testing out various poisons he had created on people. He said that the loss of a life here or there in the interest of the advance in potion making didn't bother him."  
  
"He reminds me of some of the warriors at home, they can kill innocent people without giving it a second thought," Kalliope spoke softly.  
  
Severus nodded, "Eric kills without thought, it is simply a way of life for him. Anyways, when he got out of school he continued to test his poisons where he could, the Ministry of Magic eventually found out what he was doing and sentenced him to life in Azkaban. "However, Eric disappeared before they could take him to the prison. For several years no one heard anything from him. The Ministry hoped that he had died, or decided to stop poisoning people for his enjoyment. But Dumbledore warned them that he was still out there somewhere. Albus and Eric were in contact at that time, from what I understand, Eric was too dependent on Albus. I believe that Albus actually went to see Eric after he had a rather nasty accident while experimenting on a new potion, that accident is responsible for the damage to his face that you have seen."  
  
"How was he able to hide from your Ministry for so long? I thought your government was better organized than that."  
  
"Well, this is where Eric's creative side comes through; this was only a few years after Leroux published a fanciful muggle book about an opera ghost in Paris. Eric was always a bit on the eccentric side, and he decided that with his deformed face he was very similar to this opera ghost. He somehow managed to set up a home below the Paris opera house, with Albus' help of course. Albus always believed that if given the chance Eric's good side might come through, unfortunately the Ministry got word of his whereabouts and decided to step in."  
  
"What happened?" Kalliope noticed the strained expression on her companion's face.  
  
Severus sighed, "You have to understand that Eric will only kill people who he thinks are a threat to him or who have offended him. I have no reason to believe that either of us is in any real danger. "The Ministry sent twenty-five of their best aurors into Paris to bring Eric back, none of them made it back. According to Eric, four of them died in the various traps he has set up in the opera house, he sent their bodies back. Nine of them died in that enchanted forest that you saw, their bodies were never recovered." Severus paused for a moment, "Six of them he hung from trees around the border of the forest, I believe that Albus actually saw their bodies."  
  
"And the other six?" Kalliope asked quietly.  
  
"He tortured them to death, that's all you need to know, their bodies were returned, and the state that they were in is nothing that a lady such as yourself should ever know. Ever since then the Ministry has let him be. In return he has played both sides, when Voldemort was in power he supplied both the dark lord and our side with information."  
  
Kalliope closed her eyes for a moment, "and yet this... monster... of a person has been so hospitable to us..."  
  
Severus took a long drink from the glass clutched in his hand, "yes, because above all Eric is a gentleman, I have seen him kill a man for not standing when a lady entered the room. No matter how many people he kills or tortures, he will always act like a perfect gentleman."

* * *

Remus sat as the desk in his office as he finished grading papers before classes started for the day. He smiled slightly as he looked over at Sophia who had dragged a chair directly in front of the fireplace. He had spent most of the morning so far listening to the girl complain about the cold or answering the numerous questions she kept throwing at him. For the moment, however, she was silent, as she huddled close to the fire, shivering occasionally.  
  
"Are you still cold?" Remus asked, smiling slightly.  
  
"Freezing, I don't know how you can stand this cold," Sophia whined.  
  
Remus hid his smile as he organized a stack of papers on his desk, he really didn't think it was at all cold in his office, but then again the girl was only wearing the thin robes that she had brought with her from Greece. "How would you like to go shopping this afternoon?"  
  
"What for?" Sophia looked up, obviously interested.  
  
"Some new clothes for you, you need something a bit warmer."  
  
"Are we going to go to a real store? Like the ones Kalliope has told me about, like the ones they have in the wizarding communities in Greece?" there was an edge of excitement to Sophia's voice.  
  
"Of course, it will be something like that, where else would we go?"  
  
"I don't know," Sophia shrugged, "everything that we use at the temple comes to us from offerings that people leave for the Goddess, or we barter with the tribes that come through. Kalliope makes a trip to one of the magical settlements in Greece every year, but I've never been allowed to go with her."  
  
Remus smiled a bit, Kalliope's ward continued to amaze him. She was such an outspoken feminist, and yet she knew so little of the world. The only life experience she had came from the temple where she had spent her entire life. "Well then, this will be quite the learning experience for you."  
  
Sophia frowned a bit as she chewed on her bottom lip, "Remus, you wizards use money don't you? You don't barter for things, right?"  
  
Remus instantly caught on to where this conversation was going, "don't worry about it Sophia, I'll take care of everything."  
  
Sophia look hardened, "Kalliope has told me that I must never become indebted to a man."  
  
Remus had all he could do not to laugh, it took a great deal of work for him to keep a serious expression on his face, "Kalliope also told me to look after you, I would be going against her orders if I did not see to your comfort." He hoped that this would be the right tactic to get Sophia to agree.  
  
Sophia thought for a moment before she finally nodded slowly, "alright, as long as you think that it's what Kalliope would want."  
  
"Well, now that we have that settled, what are you going to do today?"  
  
Sophia shrugged, "I don't know, would it be alright if I explored the castle a bit on my own?"  
  
Remus absently tapped his fingers on his desk top, "that might not be the best idea, I have a feeling that Mr. Filch would not be happy if he found you wandering around the halls, and the last thing you need is to have a run in with Argus Filch."  
  
Sophia's eyes lit up, "is he like the real..."  
  
Remus smiled as he gathered up the papers he had finished grading and slipped them into his tattered briefcase and answered Sophia's question for her before she finished asking it, "No he's not like the Argus from your mythology, at least as far as having a hundred eyes. Although the students will tell you that he has a habit of finding out exactly when they're going to cause trouble in the halls."  
  
"I still want to explore this castle," Sophia pouted.  
  
"Well, you have been spending a bit of time with Nimue; she could give you a pretty basic tour, although if you want to see more of the secret passageways I would suggest that you ask her brother or sisters to give you a tour."  
  
Sophia sighed, "So what am I supposed to do today? 'Cause I'm not just going to sit in my room all day" she finished defiantly.  
  
"You could sit in on my classes today if you want, it might not be the most entertaining way to spend a day, but it'll keep you out of trouble."  
  
Sophia frowned, "I won't get into trouble if you let me explore on my own."  
  
Remus shook his head, "it's either class with me or you can sit here in my office, those are your two options."  
  
"Why should I listen to a man?" Sophia shook back her long red hair and crossed her arms over her chest.  
  
Remus found that he was very glad he was a patient man, he had thought that looking after a teenage girl for a few days would be no problem, but Sophia's instilled feminist values and the sense of female superiority that she had learned at the temple were making this more difficult, "Because Miss Sophia, whether you like it or not Kalliope left you in my care, that means you will do what I tell you to. And if I'm not mistaken, no matter how much Kalliope has taught you to hate men she trusts me, and I don't think she will be very happy if I have to tell her that you caused trouble for me while she was gone. Now what will it be, the office or the classroom with me?"  
  
"I'll go to class with you," Sophia finally mumbled, after realizing there was no chance of her getting her own way.

* * *

"We're still not any closer to bring the dark lord back to power sir; Eric isn't helping us like we thought he would." Walden Macnair spoke hesitantly; Draco's temper was becoming worse the longer they were delayed.  
  
"I'll deal with Eric later. For now we should move on to the other part of our plan."  
  
"And what exactly is that?"  
  
Draco grinned menacingly, "We strike the traitors where it will hurt them the most," he pulled out a small vile containing a dark red liquid, "We've had this in our possession for quite some time now, I think it's time to see how well it works. Give this to our spy, he should be able to make good use of it."

* * *

"I think Care of Magical Creatures is possibly the worst class ever," Dierna mumbled, "after Divination of course."  
  
"You complain too much, I think it's our best class" Nick pinched her as they made their way outside towards where the rest of the class was gathering.  
  
"That's only because you've never been bitten by anything," Dierna glared at him as she rubbed her arm where he had pinched her, silently vowing to get revenge later.  
  
"Well, girl, I for one am definitely going to enjoy this class," one of the twin's roommates, Kandi, joined them, "check out those fine pieces of work," she pointed across the lawn where two men, one with shining blond hair and one with curly black hair and an eye-patch were standing with Charlie Weasley, "I can't say that I'd mind being bitten by one of them," she added with a wink.  
  
"Yep, we've definitely hit the jack-pot this time; did you see the rest of them out here earlier? Who cares about magical creatures, I want to study Professor Weasley's friends," Dinah, another of their roommates, added as she joined them, along with the rest of the sixth year girls from Gryffindor, Emily, who was muggle born, and Andromache Weasley.  
  
"Yeah, it's too bad you girls are already taken," Kandi said to Serena and Dierna, "all you can do is look. I, on the other hand... I can do all the touching I want."  
  
All of the girls dissolved into a fit of giggles that caused Nick to give them a look of disgust and move away to find some more masculine company while muttering something about girls with dirty minds.  
  
"I think I might actually pay attention in class today," Dierna said as she quickly ran a hand over her hair, hoping that her normally wild curls would behave for this one class.  
  
"Definitely," her twin agreed, "it's a good thing Mark doesn't have this class with us, otherwise I'd be in trouble," she smiled, "I have every intention of enjoying this view without having to worry about what my boyfriend thinks."  
  
"Alright everyone, settle down." Charlie waited till his class was silent, "We have a couple of guests with us today, this is Zach and Alberto. As many of you have noticed we have dragons guarding the entrances to the school now. Zach is in charge of this new security measure and Alberto is one of the handlers, they have very kindly agreed to help me with a special unit on dragons. We're going to spend the next few weeks studying on of the Common Welsh Greens that they brought with them."  
  
Charlie led the class over to a pen close to the Forbidden Forest, which contained one large, and very agitated dragon. "This is a young female, she'll be about twice this size by the time she's full grown. I'm going to let Zach take over for now, as this type of dragon is what he specializes in."  
  
"Thanks Charlie," Zach stepped in front of the class, feeling a bit nervous, the students were only two or three years younger than he was, "now, does anyone know what the preferred prey of this type of dragon is?"  
  
Most of the girls in the class had congregated to one side where whispered conversations could be carried on without attracting too much attention. There was general agreement among them that they were definitely going to be looking forward to this class from now on, as long as Zach and Alberto were present. 


	39. Chapter 39

Morgan usually looked forward to her planning period, but not today, she had too much on her mind. She sighed as she gave up on grading homework and contented herself with staring out of her window. She watched as a flock of birds rose out from the shadows of the Forbidden Forest and flew over the quidditch pitch.  
  
She drummed her fingers against the window, looking for a more permanent distraction. She suddenly found herself hoping that Severus would return earlier than he had been planning on. She rested her hand against her flat stomach and fought back tears as she wished that her husband could be with her right now. "It's no use wishing for something that won't happen, you know he said he wouldn't be back till the end of the week," she scolded herself.  
  
"Feeling sorry for ourselves now are we?"  
  
"Minerva, I didn't here you come in," Morgan turned and tried to plaster on a smile for the headmistress.  
  
"It's no good girl; you always have been bad at hiding your emotions. We both know that as slippery as Eric can be, your husband is perfectly safe with him in Paris, so stop worrying about him," Minerva spoke in her usual brisk, business-like manner, but not unkindly. She felt a special affection for the potion master's wife. Morgan had been one of her favorite students, a bright girl, who had found in Minerva a semblance of the mother she had lost.  
  
Morgan sighed softly, "Its not that, I mean, yes I do worry about him. But I just feel like I need him here, I can't explain it..."  
  
"You're probably just tired and feeling a bit run-down," Minerva patted her arm reassuringly, "I know what its like, there were times when I was feeling down, and I thought that if I could just see my Aidan everything in the world would be right. You just need to get more rest."  
  
"I suppose so."  
  
"Good girl, now I want you to come have tea with me today, I'd like to discuss possibilities for a new text book for your NEWT classes, some idiot decided that the book we have been using for your upper level Ancient Runes classes should go out of print."  
  
Morgan couldn't help smiling, there were times when Minerva still treated her like a student, "of course Minerva, I would love to have tea with you, and maybe between the two of us we can come up with a particularly nasty letter to write to those incompetent gits at the publishers.

* * *

"You're quiet today; I gather that this silence is due to the fact that Severus spent last night telling you what kind of monster I really am?" Eric's silky tone did not quite mask the malice behind the words.  
  
Kalliope leveled him with her calm gaze, "he did tell me the truth about you, however that is not the reason for my silence, I was merely worrying about what kind of trouble my ward is getting herself into in my absence."  
  
"Yes, I can see the cause for your concern, after all, she is not really human, there could be difficulties leaving one of her kind alone in the wizarding world."  
  
Kalliope was only able to mask her surprise at Eric's simply put observation thanks to many years of hiding her emotions at the temple, "how did you know?" her tone was cool, and didn't belie the raging emotions she was feeling.  
  
"The priestesses of your temple and the ladies of Avalon are not the only ones who are able to See, granted that I use a device of my own creation to do so, and I don't rely on this 'goddess' that you claim has control over your visions. But, I have my ways..."  
  
"Do not belittle my goddess," Kalliope responded automatically, while her mind was racing.  
  
"You really should tell the girl, she deserves to know her lineage."  
  
"I'm afraid that the truth will hurt her."  
  
"Or maybe you're afraid that if she knows the truth she will seek out her real parents and abandon you, after all, her father is at..."  
  
"That's enough!" Kalliope drew herself up to her full height, exuding all the regality of her position as a priestess. "I will tell her when the time is right."  
  
Eric laughed, a dry wheezing sound, "I admire your courage girl, I would kill most people who would dare talk to me like that, but there is something about you..."  
  
"I fear no man, why should you be any different?"  
  
"Brave words from a woman who has been violated by more than one man."  
  
"When one has faced the evils that I have, when they have been subjected to the humiliations that I have, when they have suffered the losses that I have, then there is nothing left to fear, I have seen the worst that life has to offer me, I can live without fearing what will be waiting for me along the path of life."  
  
"Well put girl. But take the advice of a man more than old enough to be your grandsire, listen to what your heart tells you is right. You know that your girl is ready to here the truth about her parentage, and as much as you fear losing her, it may be that she will reject her parents and claim you as the mother of her heart."

* * *

"Hey Weasel!" Alberto spoke softly as he came to Charlie's side.  
  
"I hope you realize you're about the only person I let get away with that nickname."  
  
"It's because I'm so charming," Alberto grinned, displaying several gold teeth.  
  
"Not hardly. By the way, I like the eye-patch, it really helps that pirate look you're always striving for."  
  
"Thanks amigo, you're the only one who ever liked my pirate look, I've missed working with you. Sometimes Romania seems like ages ago..."  
  
"And this from a man who is only twenty-six, you sound like an old man the way you talk."  
  
Alberto shrugged, "at least I still have the virility of a young man, that's all I ask for. Anyways, I came over here to tell you that you need to go stem the tide of the sea of raging hormones. If you don't do something soon that pack of girls might just jump our poor, unsuspecting Zach as soon as class is over."  
  
Charlie glanced over at the group of girls who were whispering together, "wow... I think you're right, I think we need to warn Zach."  
  
Charlie walked around the back of the group of gathered students. He stopped behind the group of girls, most of whom he noted were in Gryffindor, and cleared his throat softly. He smiled when the chatter stopped instantly.  
  
"I'm going to interrupt you here Zach since class is almost over. I want twelve inches on the dietary habits of Common Welsh Greens from all of you for next time, class dismissed," Charlie caught Alberto's eye, and shook his head at the dark, younger man who was grinning broadly, "ladies, a quick word before you head to your next class..."

* * *

"This is so unfair!" Serena was in a rather violent mood as they made their way to Defense Against the Dark arts, their last class of the day. "I mean, I have no problem with Potter, and Potions is almost better with him filling in for Dad, but I can't believe he gave us homework."  
  
"I don't mind, I actually think it's a rather good assignment," Dierna said as she looked over her notes.  
  
"Then you won't mind doing it for me, will you?" Nick asked as he slid an arm around Dierna's shoulders.  
  
"Not a chance, do your own homework."  
  
"I'm hurt, I let you copy my Herbology notes and our assignment last week and this is the thanks I get," Nick put on a hurt tone.  
  
"Yeah, well deal with it, Longbottom may not notice if I copied your work, but my Dad sure as hell will notice if you copy mine."  
  
"But he's not here to grade it, is he?"  
  
"Nice try Nick, but if you had been listening you would have heard Potter say that this is an assignment our Dad left, he's going to grade it when he gets back."  
  
"Damn..."  
  
"As soon as you two are finished come look at this," Serena grinned as she pointed towards the courtyard.

* * *

"When are you going to give us the help that we were promised Eric?" Severus' tone was dangerously smooth.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about," Eric coolly replied as he measured a vile of something that Severus didn't doubt was human blood.  
  
"Then let me refresh your memory, you promised me a list of names of all those in the Ministry who are working towards the return of the dark lord," Severus towered over the older man, "I want the names now Eric!" he hissed.  
  
"You'll have them when I'm ready."  
  
"NOW ERIC! WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME!" Severus grabbed Eric by the front of his robes.  
  
Eric narrowed his eyes and whispered an incantation under his breath, he looked pleased with himself when Severus let go of him as he gasped for air, "perhaps I'll just let you die Severus, watching you choke to death will provide a bit of entertainment for me."  
  
"Stop this now!" Kalliope stopped Eric's curse with a wave of her hand, "We won't get anything done if the two of you can't work together, no matter how bad both of your tempers are."  
  
"Yes Eric, listen to the priestess, it's time you decided where your loyalties lie," Severus rubbed his throat as he glared at Eric. He had known that it would be only a matter of time before something like this happened. "When are you going to stop helping the enemy and give us your full support?!"  
  
"THE ENEMY?! Dammit Severus, you should know better than anyone that there is no good or evil, no matter what the fools you are surrounded by believe. Do you honestly believe that you can classify whatever benefits you as 'good' and say that the whims of others fall on the side of evil?!" Eric's already mutated face was further distorted by rage.  
  
"Eric, look at what happened the last time..."  
  
"And you know that I feel responsible for that, if I could have stopped it I would have, but it was too late!"  
  
Kalliope looked back and forth between the two enraged wizards, and she couldn't help thinking that this always seemed to be the way men dealt with differences, with a complete lack of rationality.  
  
"You know what Voldemort and his followers are capable of Eric, how can you not consider that a cause worth fighting for?!"  
  
"And how can you consider it to be one worth dying for?! Because they want you dead Severus, all of his supporters do, it is only a matter of time, and then things will be as they were before..."  
  
"Then help us! You have always said that your family is dead to you. Why don't you listen to yourself, your family is on one side and I'm on the other, you may hate us both but you always respected Albus, what side do would he want you to take?" Severus lowered his voice to just above a whisper, but it seemed to echo against the stone walls of Eric's laboratory.  
  
Eric stood where he was, not moving, "my family is none of your concern Severus."  
  
"It will be if things keep going as they are."  
  
After a long moment of silence Eric reached into his robes and withdrew a roll of parchment which he handed over to Severus, "all the names and positions of those that have infiltrated the Ministry of Magic are here, use it wisely."

* * *

"I think our baby sister may have finally learned how to stand up for herself," Serena couldn't help grinning as Dierna and Nick joined her, "you missed it, she just hexed some 5th year Slytherin."  
  
"Yeah, and it looks like his friends are going to try and retaliate," Nick commented, as he surveyed the scene in the courtyard, where Nimue and Ophelia were being threatened by two burly Slytherins, while a third one was frantically trying to do something about the tentacles that had sprouted out of his ears.  
  
"Hmmm... looks like we might have to intervene, but after the way Connor was ogling me today between classes it might be kinda fun to hex a few Slytherins," Dierna's eyes sparkled as she contemplated revenge and reached for her wand.  
  
"Hold that thought Dierna, you've already gotten into trouble for fighting, and I don't need to have one of my Chasers suspended," Nick held Dierna back, "besides, we might have to end up saving a Slytherin instead, I think your little sister's bullies are going to take on one of their own."  
  
"Oh no, you'd think that he would have more sense then this," Serena groaned as she vaulted over a low wall and sprinted across the courtyard, Dierna and Nick right behind her.  
  
But they were too late, Brandon Potter had already thrown himself in front of his sister and Nimue, "leave them alone!" the little first year proclaimed as he glared up at his house mates, who looked ready to kill.  
  
"Get out of the way kid, defending a measly pack of Gryffindors like that is a disgrace to the name of Slytherin," one of the hulking Slytherins flexed his muscles threateningly, "or I could just hex you too..."  
  
"This is just getting worse," Serena mumbled as Mark suddenly thrust himself into the middle of things.  
  
"Nott, Perkins, leave them alone."  
  
"Drop it Mark," one of them growled, "you can't stop us."  
  
"Yes I can," Mark replied coolly, "remember, I am a Prefect, and I would hate to have to report to our Head of House that you hexed his daughter..." he let the sentence hang as an open threat.  
  
The gathered crowd seemed to hold their breath collectively as they watched the scene play out, then, as one, they relaxed as the bell rang and everyone, including Nott and Perkins, headed to class.  
  
"My boyfriend is a moron," Serena groaned, "I just hope that his fellow Slytherins don't decide to pay him back for that little scene."

* * *

As the last class of the day finished Alberto made his way through a student choked hallway to catch up with his young colleague, "hey Zach!"  
  
"Yeah?" the younger man looked up.  
  
"You want to baby sit with me tonight?"  
  
"Do I want to baby sit with you?" Zach echoed, thinking that this was completely out of character for his South American friend.  
  
"I'll take that as a yes," Alberto grinned widely, "I want you to meet my goddaughter."

* * *

"How much further is it?" Sophia whined as she tried to keep up with the brisk pace Remus set as they walked into Hogsmead.  
  
"Not far now, there's a Gladrags at the end of this street, we should be able to find you something a bit warmer to wear there."  
  
They finished the walk in silence and at the end of the street Remus ushered Sophia in to a warm little shop, with a display of purple and silver robes in the window.  
  
"Professor Lupin, what can I do for you today?" a plump witch in bright green robes with greying hair bustled forward.  
  
"Nothing for me Winifred, but I have a young lady here who is desperately in need of some new robes.  
  
"Dear me, you're quite right," Winifred pulled Sophia to her side, "the poor thing must be half frozen," she spoke to herself and clucked her tongue, "well, I can certainly do something to remedy this. Why haven't you been taking care of her better than this Professor? Never mind, never mind, just let me work." She moved incredibly fast for a woman of her size and she had soon dragged Sophia back to a fitting room and instantly had the girl in new robes that she began pinning up.  
  
"What is that man thinking, letting a little thing like you come out in the cold dressed like you were," Winifred continued to have a one sided conversation.  
  
"It's not his fault!" Sophia instantly came to Remus' defense, "I don't have anything warmer than what I came in."  
  
Winifred looked up sharply, "be that as it may, if you were my daughter... well you're not, so I best keep my mouth shut, but still... hmph, single men like that don't know how to raise a girl, I guess the blame isn't all his..."  
  
Sophia giggled, "He's not my father."  
  
"Well in that case I suppose I can belittle him all I want," Winifred said with a wink, "but if you're not his, why did he bring you shopping?"  
  
Sophia couldn't help smiling at the way this witch kept prying, "he's a friend of my guardian, she had to go to Paris so Remus is supposed to be looking after me. Does it have to be black?" Sophia suddenly changed the subject as she looked at her reflection in the large mirror, she wrinkled her nose at the dark fabric.  
  
Winifred ignored the question, "where are you from dear? You have the most darling accent."  
  
"Greece."  
  
"Well there certainly isn't a thing wrong with your English, though some people, the way they treat foreigners these days, if you ask me..." Winifred continued to hold her one-sided conversation throughout the rest of the fitting. When she was finally satisfied she shooed Sophia back into the main room.  
  
"How did it go?" Remus asked, his eyes laughing.  
  
"She is one of the strangest women I've ever met," Sophia responded, her eyes wide.  
  
"Well now Professor, how many robes do you want for this young lady?" Winifred joined them, her arms laden with fabric. 


	40. Chapter 40

  
  
Charlie couldn't help grinning as Alberto and Zach followed him through the front door, he knew that Meg would be surprised.  
  
"Where is she weasel?" Alberto growled.  
  
Charlie laughed, "I'll find her, just give me a minute..." but he was cut off when six-year-old Diana ran into the room and threw herself into his arms.  
  
"Daddy!" she squealed in delight when Charlie picked her up and spun her around.  
  
"I have someone here who wants to see you," Charlie grinned down into his daughter's shining face.  
  
"'Berto!" Diana launched herself out of her father's arms and into Alberto's.  
  
"How's my favorite goddaughter?" Alberto asked as he knelt down to be at Diana's level.  
  
Diana giggled as he tickled her, "I'm your only goddaughter!"  
  
Charlie looked from his daughter and Alberto to find his wife standing in the doorway, "oh Meg..." whatever he was going to say left his mind the moment his wife stepped into his embrace and found his lips with hers.  
  
"Is it constageous?" Diana asked Alberto, struggling a bit with the large word.  
  
"Is what contagious?"  
  
"Gold."  
  
"Tell me Miss Diana, why do you think that gold is contagious?" Alberto looked seriously into the large brown eyes of, in his opinion, the most adorable six-year-old ever.  
  
"Because yours is spreading."  
  
"It's spreading?" Alberto couldn't imagine what she was talking about.  
  
"It is!" Diana exclaimed, "Mama says that you have a heart of gold, and I think its spread to your teeth," she said as she pointed at his gold teeth.  
  
Alberto's laughter filled the room as he swung Diana up in his arms, "Zach, I hope you're ready for this evening, I hold in my arms the most entertaining child in all of Britain."  
  
Meg had a hard time hiding her laughter over her daughter's insistence that gold was contagious. Her blue eyes shinning with love, she looked up into her husband's face, "so, why did you bring the boys home with you... I was rather hoping for a romantic evening."  
  
"And you shall have that romantic evening Mrs. Weasley, I'm taking you out, Zach and Alberto are here to baby sit."  
  
"As in, we're actually going somewhere without children, where we can have an adult conversation?" Meg grinned.  
  
"That's the plan, although if I have my way we'll have a bit more than just conversation..."

* * *

Morgan lay on her and Severus' bed, on the verge of sleep. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this exhausted. "Oh Sev," she murmured as she hugged her husband's pillow to her chest, "finish up this nasty business with Eric and come home to me..."  
  
She drifted off to sleep, still clutching Severus' pillow. Her dreams were torture, images of Severus walking away from her, which faded into a graveyard at the edge of Hogsmead. In the dream she walked through the graveyard, pausing by the graved of her parents. But she didn't stay there long, she kept walking towards the far corner, she could just make out the name on a small granite stone, she felt her heart constrict with unspeakable sorrow...  
  
And then she was jolted awake. Morgan sat up blinking her eyes against the sudden glare of light, "Misty?" she asked in a groggy voice as she stared at the small house elf perched on the end of the bed, sobbing uncontrollably.  
  
"Oh Mistress Snape, it is not Misty's fault ma'am, I was not there. My master, my dear Master Snape he is... he is... dead!"

* * *

"Bad luck mate, I guess it's just not going to happen, I think you just set your sites a bit too high this time. We both knew that Celeste would never go for someone like you," William hoped that this would be the end of Kamen's scheme to get with the head girl.  
  
"Oh, this is far from over, I can be very patient," Kamen fiddled with the label on the bottle of Firewhiskey he had someone managed to procure. "Celeste just doesn't know she wants me yet, she'll be my biggest triumph yet."  
  
"What's the matter brother dear," Dierna used an overly false sympathetic tone as she flopped down on the couch next to him, the Snape siblings along with William and Nick were the only ones left in the Gryffindor common room at this late hour, "are you upset because you finally realized that not all girls think you're a god? We've known that for years, you're just a slimy, ugly..." she was cut off when Kamen attempted to smoother her with a pillow.  
  
"Cut it out you guys!" Serena snapped.  
  
"What's her problem?" Kamen asked as he abandoned his attempt to smoother Dierna.  
  
"Oh come on, don't you pay attention to anything Kamen?" Dierna asked in exasperation, "We have our quidditch match against Hufflepuff this weekend, the one that she's not allowed to play in, she's been like this for days now."  
  
"Hey isn't it past your bedtime?" Kamen asked as he threw a pillow at Nimue, who was curled up in a chair reading.  
  
"Don't tell me what to do Kamen," she responded as she threw the pillow back at him.  
  
"You little..."  
  
However, the ensuing argument was cut off when the portrait hole opened and Morgan stepped through it, followed by a small, filthy house elf. "I was hoping you would all still be up," Morgan addressed her children, "we need to talk."  
  
"I'm gonna head up," William said, trying to give the family some privacy, he had noticed the strained look on Mrs. Snape's face, "you coming Nick?"  
  
As soon as the two boys had headed up to their dormitories Morgan took a seat on a sofa opposite the one Kamen, Serena, and Dierna were on and wrapped her arms around Nimue who had sat down next to her.  
  
Morgan began without preamble, "children, I want you to know that your grandfather died tonight, his house elf Misty, brought me the news just a short while ago."  
  
"Why the hell should we care?" Kamen spat out angrily, "that old git didn't give a damn about any of us, we never even met him."  
  
"Nevertheless, I thought you should know. I haven't been able to reach your father to tell him yet, and I need to tell you that I'm not sure how he's going to take the news; this is his father we are talking about. Now you know that your father and grandfather have never gotten along..."  
  
"I think Dad used the phrase, 'I'll reconcile with that bloody bastard when the Ministry is run completely by house elves." Kamen inserted.  
  
"Alright, so they hated each other," Morgan admitted, "and I'll agree that the one time I met Tiberius, I found him to be completely disagreeable and an utter... well, the point is I want you to be considerate of your father's feelings on this matter."  
  
"Whatever, I think Dad will be happy that the git finally kicked the bucket," Kamen lazily replied.  
  
"Kamen! Now this is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about," Morgan frowned at her son.  
  
"Mum, does this mean that we have a house elf now?" Nimue asked as she indicated Misty, who was standing off to the side, fingering the filthy shredded remains of the tea towel she had wrapped around herself like a toga.  
  
"Yes it does, Misty is here because she will continue to serve the Snape family, however.."  
  
"Excellent, does that mean we don't have to clean our own rooms anymore?" Dierna interrupted her mother.  
  
"However," Morgan continued, "you are not to abuse the change in situation. That means that you still have to clean your own rooms," she ended with a slight smile.

* * *

"The sky is beautiful tonight," Meg said as she leaned against Charlie. Their dinner together had been wonderful, and Meg was delighted that they had been able to spend the evening together, free from interruption.  
  
"Meg, there is a more serious reason to why I came home tonight," Charlie said slowly.  
  
"What is it?" Meg clutched her husband's calloused hand.  
  
Charlie gently ran his other hand over the soft contours of his wife's face, "here, sit down." He took her to a bench and waited till they were seated, his arm around her shoulders, before continuing, "There was another attack today."  
  
"Oh Charlie! Who was it this time?"  
  
"A small group of muggles, and..."  
  
"And..." Meg gently prompted him.  
  
"And John McIan."  
  
"But he was the head of your father's staff at the Ministry."  
  
"I know, things are starting to hit a little closer to home now, I don't like it," Charlie pulled Meg closer to him.  
  
"What is the Ministry going to do?"  
  
"Nothing, for now."  
  
"Nothing?! How can they just stand by and..."  
  
"Meg darling, calm down. There is nothing to be done right now, not until we have the names of the spies who have infiltrated the Ministry. And once dad has those names he's still not free to act. If the spies are dismissed they'll simply go to whoever is leading this new uprising, and if they're sent to Azkaban... well... if they could get Voldemort out, then no prisoners are secure there anymore."  
  
"So we can't count on the Ministry for help..." Meg leaned against Charlie's chest.  
  
"Not for now at least."  
  
"Then what are we going to do about it?"  
  
"Meg, I don't want you..."  
  
"Dammit Charlie, I'm thinking about our family!" Meg cut him off fiercely, "I will not let our children be harmed, not matter what it takes! I will not sit idly by when I could be doing something, I was a member of the Order and I'm prepared to fight again!"  
  
"No Meg, there are other ways. Now don't interrupt me for a moment," Charlie gently hushed his wife, "First off, you are to do nothing to put yourself in harms way. Besides," Charlie hurriedly continued when he saw that his wife was ready to jump down his throat again, "Minerva is already on top of the situation."  
  
"What does Minerva have to do with this?" Meg asked quietly.  
  
"Right now the attacks that have occurred have been sporadic and ill- planned. We have a general consensus that these dark forces are still very disorganized. But, there is no doubt that once they get some more followers and become a bit more organized they will start focusing their attacks. Meg darling, we know from... our sources... that those that they consider traitors or those who were or are members of the Order will be their first targets.  
"If things get to the point where we have to worry about systemized attacks, then Minerva is going to have the families of all faculty moved to Hogwarts, along with several key members of the Order, as a safety precaution."  
  
Silence reigned for several long moments. Neither husband nor wife spoke, or needed to, they simply held each other.  
  
"Charlie," Meg finally began tentatively, "this isn't just going to be random attacks on muggles. People are going to die, good witches and wizards. I just have this feeling... it's going to be like last time, we're going to lose friends and family, and no matter how hard we fight, there's nothing we can do about it."

* * *

Connor stood in the dark dungeon corridor just outside the Slytherins common room. He leaned against the dank wall, gazing intently at the small vial in his hand. The deep crimson liquid reminded him of blood. A slow smile spread across his face as he gripped the vial tighter. His father had given him explicit instructions, but now it was up to him to do the rest.  
  
He narrowed his eyes as he heard a sound further down the hallway, but it was only that Prefect Mark, whom Connor despised, and his new shadow Brandon Potter. Connor glared at them as they passed him and went into the common room. How he would love to take care of them, but that would have to wait. He had other orders.  
  
Connor directed his attention back to the vial in his hand, "it's a shame," he muttered to himself, "not the target I would have chosen, but I suppose it will have to do. But then again, it is rather fitting..."  
  
He tucked the vial into his pocket, "after all, poison is queen." 


	41. Chapter 41

"You think I have time to copy your homework before class starts?" Nick asked Dierna outside the greenhouses. "I might have had time to do it on my own if I hadn't had to chase Connor off of you on the way out here."  
  
"Of course, just do it quickly," she handed him a parchment covered in her neat writing.  
  
"You're a life saver doll," Nick kissed her cheek as he started writing on his own nearly empty paper.  
  
Serena laid her head on her sister's shoulder, "I think I'm going to just skip class, I still don't feel good."  
  
"You must really be dying if you want to skip Herbology," Dierna teased her sister.  
  
"All right, everyone inside now, we have a lot to get through today," Neville Longbottom smiled warmly at his students. During his school years he had never thought that he would ever have a job that he would love like this. He enjoyed his students, and was daily able to feed his passion for magical flora.  
  
But what Neville had truly come to value about his position was the change it had brought about in him. Teaching had transformed him from being shy and awkward, to outgoing and confident. It was a constant source of pride to him that he was hailed as a favorite teacher by many of his students.  
  
"I hate dirt," Dierna mumbled under her breath.  
  
"Deal with it," Nick whispered back to her.  
  
Dierna responded by sticking her tongue out at him.  
  
"Very attractive, if you didn't have dirt on your hands right now I'd be tempted to kiss you," Nick deadpanned.  
  
Dierna giggled, then covered it up by coughing into her hand when she noticed that Professor Longbottom was looking in their direction.  
  
"Very smooth," Nick said out of the side of his mouth.  
  
"Nick, look" there was a note of panic in Dierna's voice.  
  
"What is it?" Nick swore loudly when he looked over at Dierna. He didn't notice that he and Dierna had become the center of attention for the entire class; he was too busy trying to catch his best friend before her limp form hit the ground.

* * *

Nimue closed her eyes and swayed on her feet. She had skipped class because she was in so much pain. But even though she felt close to collapsing she felt a strong pang of guilt over missing class, she never broke the rules...  
  
"Are you alright?" Sophia asked as she came into the Gryffindor common room.  
  
"I don't know," Nimue answered uncertainly, "my head feels like its going to explode."  
  
Sophia instantly took charge, "I snuck out of Remus' class because I could tell this was happening. Unless you prepare yourself for visions they will hurt like this. Lie down and try to relax."  
  
Nimue obediently lay down on one of the worn sofas and tried to breathe deeply.  
  
"What did you see?" Sophia asked as she sank into a chair.  
  
"It was a vision I've seen before," Nimue whispered, "Hogsmead was in flames and I saw people... it was horrible what they were doing, so many died." Nimue fought back tears, the horrors of the vision had been more than her sensitive heart could take in.  
  
"It's always hard when you're not used to the visions," Sophia inserted sympathetically; "they used to give me horrible troubles before I learned to control them."  
  
"What can I do to make them stop?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
The tears that had been pooling in Nimue's violet eyes spilled over, "then what is the point?! Why did you and Kalliope come if I won't be able to stop them?"  
  
"Well..." Sophia answered uncertainly, "Kalliope is a very talented oracle, she should be able to help you learn how to control the visions, and to summon them. If she ever gets back from Paris," she finished bitterly.  
  
"And why are you here?" Nimue asked, as her tears stopped.  
  
Sophia shrugged, "I'm not completely sure. I know part of it is because Kalliope thought I was spending too much time in the warrior's camp," she blushed slightly.  
  
"What's his name?" Nimue asked, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.  
  
"Scamander, but he really doesn't mean anything to me. There's another reason why I'm here, but I'm not supposed to know about it," Sophia dropped her voice to a whisper, "the high priestess, the Lady Rheia, said I should come so that I could find out more about my past. I know that I have never been told the truth about who my parents are, and I think that at least one of them might be alive. If I was supposed to come here to find out about them, then maybe one of my parents is here at Hogwarts."

* * *

Nick gently ran the back of his hand along Dierna's face. She was so cold. It scared him. And the blood that bubbled from her mouth with every breath she took terrified him. "Will she be alright?" he asked Madame Pomphrey.  
  
"I don't know, this isn't like anything I've ever seen before," Madame Pomphrey pursed her lips together and shook her head. "Something is missing... I just don't know. Her parents should be here."  
  
Neville, who was badly shaken, answered from where he stood next to the bed where they had placed Dierna in the hospital wing. "I sent Serena to find her mother."  
  
"Well, all we can do for now is wait. It's almost as though she's been poisoned, but I know of no potion that would have this affect on a person..." Madame Pomphrey gently tucked in another blanket around Dierna's still form, "poor girl, all we can do is wait, and hope for the best."

* * *

"Do you ever feel like you're missing out on something?"  
  
"What do you mean?" Nimue cocked her head to the side.  
  
"I don't know," Sophia paused, "sometimes, I just feel like there's more to life, more than tallying offerings at the temple, more than following the orders of the priestesses. Don't you ever feel that way? Don't you ever want to escape from the life that you know and do something different?"  
  
Nimue fought a battle with herself, Sophia's questions had brought to surface a whole barrage of feelings. Nimue, who always did as she was told, concealed an inner desire for freedom. "I know exactly how you feel."

* * *

"You look like you could use some company." Remus sat next to Morgan and slid a supporting arm around her shoulders.  
  
"I can't do this again Remus," Morgan looked at the still form of her daughter, painfully aware of how slow Dierna's breathing had become. "I just can't, no mother should have to..." she buried her face in the front of Remus' shirt.  
  
"Shhhh...." Remus gently hushed Morgan as she started to cry, "dwelling on the past is not going to help you Morgan."  
  
Morgan clung to Remus, hoping with all her might that everything would turn out alright.

* * *

"Have you seen our elusive friend today?" Severus asked Kalliope. They had arrived at the opera house several hours ago, but there had been no sign of Eric yet.  
  
"No, and I don't think that you're too disappointed about it," Kalliope answered.  
  
Severus gave her a rare smile, "I think you may be right, the less I see of that... Eric, so glad you decided to join us."  
  
Eric practically flew into the room and thrust a vile of light blue liquid into Severus' hand, "you must leave immediately!"  
  
"What the hell are you talking about Eric? I'm not going anywhere until you give us the rest of the information that we were promised."  
  
"Severus there is no time for you to argue with me, if you don't leave now your daughter will die."  
  
"WHAT?!" Severus grabbed Eric by the front of his robes and lifted the disfigured man several inches off the ground, "Explain, and explain quickly."  
  
"I gave the death eaters a poison that I created," Eric wheezed, speech made difficult due to the position he found himself in, "the vile you hold is the only antidote. I swear, I didn't know they would try to get to you by poisoning your daughter, I figured they'd use it on a real enemy, preferably you."  
  
"I'm going to kill you." Severus let Eric fall to the ground and pulled out his wand. "You sick, demented..."  
  
"I swear to you Severus, I never imagined they would sink to this level, the bloody cowards. Keep your insults, and save your daughter."  
  
Severus gave a curt nod and turned on his heel, "I'll be back to deal with you Eric."

* * *

Dierna felt as though she were trapped, she could have sworn she was screaming, but she made no sound. As she slipped deeper and deeper into unconsciousness strange dreams surrounded her.  
  
She ran across a field and threw herself into Stephan's waiting arms, but when she tried to kiss him he pushed her away. She watched in shock as he walked away from her into the gathering mist. Soon the fog had grown so thick that she couldn't see anything around her.  
  
Everything felt so heavy, and she was so tired. If she just let the darkness come she could lay down and sleep. The darkness was so warm and inviting, and everything felt like it was closing in. As she dreamed Dierna tried to force herself deeper into the darkness, all she wanted was to rest, to be free...  
  
Her breathing slowed till it was nearly non-existent. Every breath was labored, and each one took more effort. She was so exhausted, if she could just drift further into sleep, maybe she wouldn't feel so tired, so weak...  
  
"It may be too late..."  
  
Dierna felt as though she were teetering on the edge of a cliff, should she lean forward and let herself fall? In her comatose state she felt herself leap off the cliff, the wind rushed up around her, she felt so free, until she was roughly pulled back by an invisible hand.

* * *

"When are you going to tell me more about my parents?"  
  
Kalliope rolled her eyes, she hadn't been back from Paris for more than two hours and it was already starting. "When I think you're ready."  
  
"I'm ready now."  
  
Kalliope hesitated, perhaps Eric had been right, perhaps she should tell the girl... but she hadn't planned on doing it with an audience. She shot a quick glance at Remus, who was looking slightly amused. "What do you think?" she asked him.  
  
Remus held out his hands, "don't ask me, this is your call." He had been talking with Harry and Sirius when Kalliope and Sophia and come in, already in the middle of this argument.  
  
Kalliope sighed, "as long as you realize that you may not like what you here I will tell you."  
  
Sophia nodded eagerly and scooted forward to the edge of her seat in anticipation.  
  
"Would you like us to leave?" Sirius asked.  
  
Another sigh, "no, you wizards might as well stay, after-all this involves one of you."  
  
"Tell me already!" Sophia was nearly shaking with anticipation, after years of waiting she would finally know the truth.  
  
"Patience little one, and you shall know all. First off, you should know that both of your parents are still alive, but they are not part of a nomadic tribe as you were originally told." Kalliope paused, as though considering whether or not she should continue, "and you're not completely human either."  
  
"What?!" Sophia looked shocked, "wouldn't I know if I'm not human?"  
  
"Not necessarily, and its not a bad thing either, although there are some ignorant fools who will tell you otherwise. Your mother's name is Briseis; she is a water nymph, and a member of the cult of Thetis. She is a priestess to her own people, and very powerful within her own community. Why she decided to give you up is beyond me. Your father..." Kalliope took a deep breath and closed her eyes, "your father is..."  
  
"I am your father."

* * *

Dierna felt as though every muscle in her body was on fire as consciousness slowly came back. She didn't even want to try to move, or open her eyes. Even though she had been unconscious for so long she was exhausted. As much as she wanted to listen to her parent's conversation she couldn't fight off sleep any longer. She drifted back to sleep without having really waken up.  
  
"Morgan, I don't care, I'm going to kill that bloody bastard, this is all his fault."  
  
"Sev, hush, there are more important things to deal with right now," Morgan gripped her husband's hand as he frowned down at her.  
  
"What could... in the name of..." Severus fought to maintain his balance as Misty the house elf through herself at him, wrapping her arms around his leg.  
  
"Oh Master Snape is back, Misty is so happy! Misty is happy to have such a good master now, she is waiting to serve whenever he needs something, Misty is a good house elf."  
  
"What is she doing here?" Severus looked annoyed, but Morgan caught a hint of amusement in his eyes.  
  
"Sev, Misty is here because..."  
  
"Oh Master Snape, it is a sad reason why Misty is here!" Misty interrupted as she started sobbing, "Master Tiberius, he is dead sir, so I is here to serve you. But I is happy to have someone to serve, and is very happy to be serving the Snape family."  
  
"It's about time, I've been waiting for him to die for years."  
  
"Severus!" Morgan hissed at him, "you could at least try to show some compassion, no matter how much you hated him."  
  
"You're right Morgan, I'm very sorry the he died, now I have all the work of handling his estate, and the last thing I need right now is more work."  
  
Morgan rolled her eyes, "that's not what I meant and you know it," but she stood up on her toes to kiss her husband on the cheek.  
  
Severus looked pleased with himself for a moment before resuming his normal stern appearance, "I suppose I should go get some work done, I'll probably have to go to Tiberius' estate, I may not be back till the morning, get some rest."  
  
"Sev, I need to talk to you about something, I'm..."  
  
"We'll discuss it when I get back, I want to get this business over with as soon as possible," he kissed his wife quickly, "I'll see you in the morning," and he turned on his heel and swept out of the hospital wing.  
  
"... pregnant."

* * *

"What?! You are not my father! You can't be!" Sophia felt like she wanted to cry.  
  
Sirius was aware of the looks of shock on everyone's, except for Kalliope, faces. "I know it seems impossible, but there's a logical explanation."  
  
"Then let's hear it!" Sophia spat at him.  
  
Sirius sighed, "it all started about nineteen years ago. There was a battle at the Ministry of Magic, I was hit by a curse and thrown through a portal. I just kept falling and falling, I thought I was going to die. Right when I had given up hope I was grabbed by a beautiful woman, the next thing I knew I was laying on a marble floor, surrounded by women.  
"One of them stepped forward and told me that it wasn't time for me to die yet, and that a priestess had 'requested' me."  
  
Sophia continued to glare at Sirius, she wanted to discount his story, but she knew very well how the temples worked, and so far his story made sense to her.  
  
Sirius looked wearily up at his audience before he continued his story, "I was handed off to the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, she said her name was Briseis. She had this long red hair and eyes like the sea," Sirius' voice had become dreamy, "I instantly feel under her spell. The next few years passed in a blur, I only remember bits and pieces until the very end. Briseis said she would grant me one request. I asked for my freedom.  
"I have never seen a woman get that angry, she ranted and raved at me, and tried to tell me that she was pregnant and that I couldn't leave her. But I didn't believe her, I thought she was just trying to keep me from leaving."  
  
Tears formed in Sirius' eyes, "I'm so sorry Sophia, if I had known... I would never have left..."  
  
"I hate you!" Sophia ran from the room. Remus followed her, after shooting murderous look in Sirius' direction. 


	42. Chapter 42

"Sophia, are you alright?" William gently took her by the shoulders, and led the sobbing girl into an empty classroom. She had practically run him over in her attempt to get away.

Sophia responded by throwing her arms around William and sobbing into the front of his shirt.

William, though shocked by Sophia's action, tentatively embraced her back, and waited for her to stop crying.   
  
When Sophia finally ran out of tears, William awkwardly disentangled himself from her grasp and led her to a chair. "Want to talk about it?"   
  
"It's just not fair!" Sophia cried out, "Of all the... I wanted to know, but now I wish she hadn't told me."   
  
"Ok... well that didn't tell me anything."   
  
"Sirius is my dad! And he's the last person... when I asked Kalliope to tell me who my parents were, I was hoping, well, I was kinda hoping that Remus was my father."   
  
"Well, since I have no idea what just happened, I'm not sure how much help I'll be, but I can tell you one thing for sure, we're both stuck with him."   
  
"What?" Sophia looked up at William.   
  
William couldn't help grinning, "Sirius Black, neither one of us wants him for a father, but we're stuck with him." His grin spread further at Sophia's determined expression, it would seem that he had just gained another supporter in his campaign against Sirius.

* * *

Remus slammed the door to his office, but even that action did nothing to dispel his anger. He paced in front of the fireplace, seething.   
  
"Hey Moony, can we talk?" Sirius asked as he stepped into the office.   
  
"I really don't feel like talking to you right now Sirius."   
  
"What's wrong? What have I done to deserve this hostility?"   
  
Remus spun around, "What have you done? Dammit Sirius, for once in your life consider the consequences of your actions! I thought I lost Kalliope when I left Greece, but I have her again. You have no idea what that means to me. And Sophia, if I marry Kalliope, Sophia will practically be my daughter. But you had to take that away from me!"   
  
"Now Remus, this isn't my fault."   
  
"Not your fault?! How can you even begin to think that this isn't your fault Sirius? You have always been the attention getter, you always have to stand out. But this time, this time its gone too far. You may have destroyed the one chance I had at a family."

* * *

Severus entered his and Morgan's apartments without making any attempts at being quiet. His wife slept like the dead, and even though it was the middle of the night, he didn't have any worries about waking her up.   
  
He paused in the doorway to their bedroom for a moment to watch her sleep, and he couldn't imagine loving anyone more. He quickly undressed and slid into bed and wrapped an arm around his tiny wife.   
  
"I didn't expect you back so soon," Morgan said sleepily.   
  
Severus laughed softly in surprise, "I didn't think I'd wake you."   
  
"You know I always sleep lighter when I'm pregnant," Morgan's voice was still thick with sleep.   
  
"What?!" Severus quickly sat up and hit his head on the headboard in the process, causing him to swear loudly.   
  
Morgan sat up, trying to conceal her laughter behind her hand, "I'm sorry Sev, I didn't mean to tell you like that."   
  
"That's beside the... you better not be laughing at my expense," he growled at her, as he rubbed at the back of his head, knowing there would be a good sized knot there in the morning.   
  
"Of course not, I would never laugh at you," Morgan tried to stop giggling, but failed miserably.  
  
"I'll deal with you later, but first," Severus gently kissed her forehead, "explain yourself," he kissed her on the tip of the nose.   
  
Morgan snuggled herself into her husband's embrace, and assumed a teasing tone "Well you see Sev, when two people love each other and they want to have a child, the first thing that has to happen is..."  
  
"That's not what I meant you little imp and you know it, I could have sworn that you were not pregnant before I left," he brushed a kiss on her lips.   
  
"That test was wrong, I'm almost a month along."   
  
Severus moved his hand down to rest it against his wife's flat abdomen, "well then, I guess I don't have any reason to doubt you, I'm pretty sure you were with me a month ago," he teased her back.   
  
Morgan suddenly became serious, "Sev, are you happy about this because you know it's what I want, or do you really want this child?"   
  
Severus moved away from his wife just enough so that he could look her in the face, "Morgan, honestly, a couple of months ago I would have only been happy for your sake, but now... now I really do want this child. It just seems right somehow."   
  
"Thank you Sev, that means the world to me," Morgan leaned against his chest.   
  
"You know what disappoints me though?" Severus' tone was light as he ran his fingers through his wife's hair.   
  
"What?"   
  
"I am going to miss all the fun we had trying to get you pregnant."   
  
Morgan laughed as she wrapped her arms around her husband's neck and pulled him down on top of her.

* * *

Dierna sat up and looked around her. She honestly couldn't remember why she was in the hospital wing. She looked at the moonlight as it streaked across the floor and frowned, trying to figure out exactly how long she had been there.  
  
"Ah, so glad to see that you're finally up Miss Snape, feeling better?" Madame Pomphrey bustled in, wearing a bright robe over a long nightdress, holding a cup of something that steamed.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
Madame Pomphrey clucked her tongue, "poor child, probably better that you don't remember, you were in such a state..." she quickly explained the events that had placed Dierna in the hospital wing, while making the girl drink the contents of the cup she had brought, "you're very lucky, we almost lost you. Why, if your father hadn't shown up when he did... well, probably not best to think about that.  
"Now get some rest dear, you need it," and Madame Pomphrey, after making sure that Dierna had enough covers went to find her own bed.  
  
Dierna, however, found that she wasn't in the least bit tired. She sat up and wrapped her arms around her legs, propping her chin up on her knees, "I wonder how that poison works..."  
  
"That's a simple enough question to answer child, it only needs to come in contact with your skin, then it quickly works its way into your system causing internal bleeding."  
  
Dierna jumped, she hadn't expected anyone to be there, let alone answer her question.

* * *

"Remus? Are you alright?" Kalliope came up behind the wizard and gently touched his arm.  
  
"I suppose, just trying to wish my life away..."  
  
"What reason do you have to do that?"  
  
"You should know better than anyone Kalliope, all I've ever wanted is a family, and now..." Remus felt a small measure of satisfaction as his fist connected with the wall.  
  
Kalliope gently turned him around and placed her hands on either side of his face, "wizard, this isn't like you, you still have every opportunity to have a family."  
  
"I thought I did, but now... I would have loved to have Sophia for a daughter..."  
  
"And you still can, she is a woman by temple standards, she can choose her family, and I somehow doubt she will choose the parents who gave her life."  
  
"And what about you priestess?" Remus felt his mouth go dry as he gently stroked her dark hair. He remembered a night long ago on a Mediterranean beach, he remembered the way Kalliope's hair and run through his fingers like silk on that occasion.  
  
"All you ever had to do was ask."  
  
"And will a priestess consent to be with a man such as me? A monster?"  
  
Kalliope's dark eyes locked with Remus' weary ones, "how many times must I tell you wizard, to me you are not a monster, you are the god to my goddess."

* * *

Dierna watched, with split feelings of apprehension and curiosity, as a man stepped out of the shadows and into the dim light the moon cast.  
  
"Didn't mean to startle you girl, sorry about that," he drew up a chair and seated himself at the foot of her bed.  
  
Dierna cocked her head to the side and examined his wizened features, and the gross distortion of one side of his face, "Eric?" she asked tentatively.  
  
Eric nodded, "correct, Miss Adelaide."  
  
Dierna grinned, "you know, I have a feeling your being here will not make my father happy."  
  
"It's not supposed to, but there are things that we must discuss. Now that you know how my poison works, can you think of anyone who would administer it to you?"  
  
Dierna thought for a moment, "before I answer that I have a question of my own, if your poison caused internal bleeding, shouldn't it have caused me a lot more pain? I would think that there would be an intense burning pain, shouldn't I have felt something when it came in contact with my skin?"  
  
Eric gave a dry, wheezing laugh, "it would take Severus' daughter to come up with a question like that. My dear girl, I use snake venom in that poison, it causes a numbing sensation that conceals any pain caused as the poison destroys your insides."  
  
"Oh..." Dierna narrowed her eyes, "I wonder if the same technique could be applied in other areas..." she shook her head, "but to answer your question... hmmmm..." suddenly her eyes widened as a thought occurred to her, "Connor. It was Connor who poisoned me wasn't it?"  
  
"Correct again, Miss Adelaide. But I cannot allow you to tell anyone that he was the one who poisoned you."  
  
"Why?" Dierna's tone was sharp, as she once again became wary of this man.  
  
"Because it is in my best interests."  
  
Dierna snorted, "and why should that make me want to help you, this could be my chance to finally get that creep expelled."  
  
"If he is expelled you will most certainly be killed. I know how they think. I must ask you not to share what you know, because it will save lives."  
  
"Why do you help them, what do Voldemort's supporters mean to you?"  
  
Eric sighed, "my nephew, he is, shall we say, an integral part of this dark uprising. I protect him because of how he was when he was a child. Albus always tried to find the good in him, I'd like to think that I could bring it back."  
  
Dierna frowned, "who is your nephew?"  
  
"Someone who chose the wrong path in life, and that is all I will tell you."  
  
"But..."  
  
"No more questions now child, I must be leaving before someone finds out I am here, after all, I'm not even supposed to be in the country. I ask just one more thing of you, give this to my grandson, I haven't written to him for awhile, and I do try and keep in touch," he handed Dierna an addressed envelope.  
  
She turned the letter over in her hands, and smiled when she saw the name on it, "I would never have guessed..."  
  
"Not many people would," Eric smiled, as much as his deformity would allow him to, "and now I must bid you adieu."  
  
"Wait! One more question..."  
  
"Yes child?"  
  
"How do you know everything that goes on? And how did you travel here?"  
  
"That's really two questions, and I can't really answer them, because that would reveal my secret. Although, if he had ever seen my means of spying and transportation Gilderoy Lockhart would have been beside himself with joy, I'll leave you to reflect on that. And now, I find that I do have one more request for you. Tell your father that as far as the dark forces are concerned he has crossed the Rubicon."  
  
"There's no going back now is there?" Dierna whispered, "We must either take the city or die as enemies of Rome," a wry smile played at her mouth.  
  
"Glad to see that at least some of the younger generation still finds muggle literature and history worth reading. Goodbye Miss Adelaide, I don't doubt that we'll meet again." Eric wrapped his invisibility cloak around himself, and disappeared into the shadows.

* * *

Kalliope carefully slipped out of Remus' bed, she moved slowly so as not to wake him. She quickly pulled on her robes and leaned back over the bed. Her fingers hovered above Remus as she hesitated.  
  
Holding her breath, she lightly brushed her fingers along the side of his face, "I love you Remus," she whispered. "I think I would give up everything for you."  
  
She smiled gently as she stood up straight. While this coupling would have been either overlooked, or applauded by her temple, she had to think of Remus' reputation here. She slipped out of his room as the first rays of light streaked the sky. Her heart felt lighter than it had in years.

* * *

Dierna groaned as she opened her eyes, she was still sore, and the morning light that flooded the hospital ward caused her to squint her eyes. She sat up slowly, she noticed that this simple movement, which had caused her to wince in pain last night, caused her no problems now.  
  
"Well young lady, you gave us quite a scare," Severus spoke from where he sat next to her bed, thankful to finally see his daughter awake.  
  
"I'm feeling a lot better than I did last night."  
  
"Good, but you still need your rest."  
  
"I think I'm feeling good enough to go up to my own room, maybe even go to class this afternoon," Dierna swung her legs over the side of the bed.  
  
"That is out of the question," Severus scowled at his daughter, "you are staying here."  
  
"But Dad, I feel fine," Dierna pouted.  
  
"I don't care, you are not going anywhere," Severus answered with deadly calm.  
  
Dierna glared at him, "don't you have a class to teach or something?"  
  
"No, Potter is going to cover my classes today, I'm going to sit here and make sure you do not set foot out of that bed," he more than matched her glare.  
  
"Dad, I need to move, otherwise I'm going to be stiff for the quidditch match tomorrow!"  
  
"What makes you think you're going to be playing a quidditch game tomorrow?! Adelaide, the only way you will find yourself in the quidditch pitch tomorrow, is if you're in the stands."  
  
"But Dad..."  
  
"NO!"  
  
They glared at each other for a long moment, neither of them with any intention of giving in. Dierna tried to decide another tactic, maybe if she could divert his attention.... "Oh Dad, I have a message for you. As far as Voldemort's supporters are concerned, you've 'crossed the Rubicon.' Me and Eric had a rather interesting conversation last night. She absently twirled an auburn curl around her finger as she said the last sentence.  
  
"WHAT?!" Severus swore, "Dierna, was that man here last night?"  
  
"Yes," Dierna answered nonchalantly, trying to look as innocent as possible.  
  
"I am going to kill him," Severus stood up and strode towards the door, but turned on his heel when he reached it and stalked back to Dierna's bed. "I know exactly what you are trying to do young lady, you were trying to get me to leave so that you could sneak out of here." He resumed his seat, "I will deal with Eric later, it appears that I can't trust you enough to leave you alone."  
  
"Dad, I'm fine! Besides, tomorrow's game is the one that Serena is suspended from, if you don't let me play the team is going to be thoroughly screwed!"  
  
Severus raised an eyebrow at his daughter's desperate speech, "then they will be 'thoroughly screwed' as you so eloquently put it."

* * *

"Remus, how are you this morning?" Morgan took his arm as they walked towards their classrooms.  
  
"Really good," Remus couldn't help the grin that spread across his face.  
  
Morgan smiled knowingly, "I think you'll have to have late night visitors more often."  
  
Remus blushed and rushed to change the subject, "How is Dierna doing?"  
  
Morgan rolled her eyes, "I looked in the hospital wing this morning, she and her father were arguing, I think she's fine."  
  
Remus chuckled, "I'd say things are about back to normal."  
  
Morgan gave Remus a sly smile, "and I hope that this overly good mood of yours will become normal."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"Well, we've been discussing it..."  
  
"Who is this 'we'?"  
  
Morgan brushed the question away with her hand as though it were a fly, "oh, some of the other ladies: Graine, Elizabeth, Meg, Ginny..."  
  
"Alright, I get the point. You women can be pretty scary when you get together, what do you have planned for me now?"  
  
Morgan smiled innocently, "it's very simple Remus, you need to get married. Or at the very least move in with your priestess."  
  
"I can't believe this..."  
  
"Now Remus be fair! We just want what's best for you, and you're so happy when you're with Kalliope. And some of us remember what it was like when you first met her. Meg was with you in Greece, from what I've described to her, this is the happiest you've been since that time."  
  
Remus sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "you're right, but I can't ask her to give up her position at the temple, it means too much to her."  
  
"You'd be surprised what a woman will give up, when she's in love." 


	43. Chapter 43

* * *

Zach, I'm fine, it's just a scratch."  
  
"Alberto, it's not 'just a scratch' I'd say it's more of a horrendous gash."  
  
"Well if you hadn't got in my way..."  
  
"You know, if you'd just go to the hospital wing on your own this would be so much easier, I'm tired of having to take care of my team of handlers, especially when they're all older than me."  
  
"Yes _mother _I know we're all so much trouble," Alberto flashed his gold-toothed smile, "but we're also the best damn handlers this side of Ecuador."  
  
"Well what is it now?" Madame Pomphrey managed to sound exasperated, concerned, and livid at the same time. "As though I don't have enough to do taking care of students, I have careless dragon handlers filling up my hospital wing now. Well, get in bed!"  
  
Alberto rolled his eyes, and took a seat on a bed next to Dierna, the only other occupant of the hospital wing. "What are you in for?" he asked in mock seriousness.  
  
"Oh the usual, some creep tried to poison me, everyone overreacts, I get stuck in this bed. Luckily I finally got my Dad to leave for five minutes, otherwise I'd be a real mental case by now. You?"  
  
"A common welsh green decided that I would make a better lunch than what I was trying to feed him, mother Zach here overreacted, and now I'm stuck in this bed."  
  
Zach sighed, "Well, I'll let you two commiserate together," and he turned to leave.  
  
"Wait!" Dierna reached under her pillow and withdrew a letter, which she held out to Zach, "your grandfather left this with me last night."  
  
Zach took the letter, "thanks, although it's probably just another plea for me to live with him in Paris." He left the hospital wing as he opened the letter.  
  
"So," Alberto turned to Dierna, "how much longer you in here for?"  
  
Dierna frowned, "it better not be long, I'm supposed to be playing in a quidditch match tomorrow."  
  
Alberto grinned, "What position do you play? I was a chaser one year for the Ecuador team."

* * *

"Hey Celeste!" Kamen ran to catch up with the tall blond, head girl.  
  
"Yes?" she looked at him skeptically.  
  
"Wow, you look great today," he flashed her a lopsided grin, one that usually made his conquests melt, however it didn't seem to work on this one. "Actually, I'm having some trouble with Transfiguration, and you're the best in our class, I was wondering if you would help me out."  
  
Celeste leveled him with a cool stare, "fine, meet me in the library at 7."  
  
"With pleasure."

* * *

Saturday morning dawned bright and clear. It was a perfect day for quidditch. The Gryffindor team wasn't very talkative at breakfast. Serena was trying to be cheerful for the sake of the team, but wasn't succeeding very well, and Dierna still hadn't managed to escape from the hospital wing.  
  
Nick was looking rather grim. He didn't like the idea of using two reserve players in a game, but didn't have any other options. Finally deciding that his teammates' melancholy attitude was too much for him to take he left the table, planning on heading to the locker rooms early. But Kamen grabbed him before he left.  
  
The two boys had a whispered consultation, and Kamen pressed a bundle into Nick's hand, "take care of it Wood, she was adamant about it."  
  
Nick frowned, "as long as it's understood that I'm not taking any blame, because you know this isn't going to go over well."  
  
Kamen nodded, "of course."

* * *

"Well, what do you think?" Meg waited expectantly while Ginny read the letter from Morgan.  
  
Ginny grinned, "Remus deserves to be happy, now if only they would get married... you've met this woman before, what was she like?"  
  
"It was years ago, Remus and I ended up at an ancient Greek temple on a mission for the Order. The death eaters staged an attack while we were there," Meg shook her head sadly, "this priestess, Kalliope, lost her daughter in the attack. She couldn't have been more than 17 or 18 at the time, these temple women start young. And Remus, well he was still depressed, he still thought that Sirius was dead, and, well, you know how bleak things were looking.  
"And the two of them found each other. They consoled each other, and spent countless hours walking on the beach together. I was so surprised that something didn't come of their relationship then."  
  
"Well, I certainly hope that we have a wedding to plan soon."  
  
"How are you doing Ginny?" Meg laid a hand on her sister-in-law's arm.  
  
Ginny sighed, "well, some days are better than others. I just don't know what to do sometimes," she blushed slightly, "Mum says that the next time Harry comes home to just send Lily over to her, that me and Harry just need a couple of nights together to work things out."  
  
Meg couldn't help smiling, "it's certainly worth a shot, maybe you need that physical link, you two have hardly spent any time with each other the last couple of years."  
  
"I just want this to be resolved, one way or the other."

* * *

Nick glanced into the hospital wing, making sure that Madame Pomphrey wasn't around. As soon as he was sure that the coast was clear he went to Dierna, "are you sure about this?" he asked as he handed her the bundle Kamen had given him.  
  
"Completely," Dierna pulled out her quidditch uniform, she rolled her eyes at Nick, "could you at least turn around so I can get dressed?"  
  
Nick obligingly turned around, "just remember, this was in no way my idea."  
  
"Hey, you can't have two team members sitting a game out."  
  
"Yeah, you just better not get yourself banned from the team."  
  
"All dressed," Dierna finished adjusting the pads on her uniform, "don't worry about it Nick," she fluttered her eyelashes innocently, "I could have died, I just need to play up how much this meant to me, and how really sorry I am, but I just had to play, and I'll be completely off the hook."  
  
"But your dad..."  
  
"Is so twisted around my little finger."

* * *

Ron Weasley joined his father, and several other important Ministry officials, as they began reviewing lists of death eaters who had infiltrated the Ministry.  
  
"I didn't expect the numbers to be so high," Arthur adjusted his glasses, "there is no easy way to fix this problem. Merlin's balls..."  
  
"What is it?" Ron leaned in to look at the list his father held.  
  
"Ron, take as many as the other aurors you need, get the spy out of there. You're taking over this mission."  
  
Serena, Nimue, and Sophia made there way through the crowded stands. "If I can't play I had better have a damn good seat," Serena muttered.  
  
"Girls! Last chance to place bets before the game starts!" A group of seventh year boys motioned the girls over to the front row, where they made room for them.  
  
"What have you got going?" Serena asked.  
  
"Well, we've got bets on the outcome, on who gets injured, the score, you can place money on pretty much everything."  
  
Serena couldn't help smiling at her brother's roommates. Even though she was in a bad mood they were still entertaining. "Alright, five galleons on a Gryffindor victory, and five more says that my git of a brother gets hit with a bludger."  
  
Meanwhile, Nimue was trying to explain the intricacies of quidditch to Sophia. "Don't worry, once you see the game in action it's a lot easier to understand."  
  
"Why don't you play?" Sophia asked.  
  
Nimue gave a dramatic shudder, "because I've seen my siblings play, they're all brutal out there. I have no desire to get knocked around like that."  
  
As the stands finished filling, Kandi took up the enchanted microphone in one of the top boxes. Where, under the watch of Remus, who had brought Kalliope with him, and Sirius, she would provide the commentary for the game. "We've got a great day for a quidditch match. Although it looks like Gryffindor will have to use some reserve players," she practically spat the word, "no offense to our reserve team, but some of us do like to win.  
"And the teams are making there way onto the field. Woo-hoo!!! Looks like Gryffindor has a better shot of winning now, apparently chaser Dierna Snape is playing after-all."  
  
She rolled her eyes when Sirius leaned over to tell her to try and provide an unbiased commentary. "And the captains are shaking hands, and I would like to add that Nick Wood is looking particularly good this season, and not just on the field, if you know what I mean girls." She moved farther down the box, out of the reach of teachers. "And he is still single, so get your move on girls; he is one hot piece of property.  
"And they're off! Kamen has the quaffle, passes back to William Darcy, another fine specimen of the male species, who is also single. And William moves to pass it back... damn! Hufflepuff in possession of the quaffle, they're moving down the field. And a spectacular save by Nick Wood!"  
  
"How are you holding up?" Kamen asked as he flew past his sister.  
  
"Good so far," Dierna ducked as a bludger soared past her.  
  
"And Gryffindor is back in possession of the quaffle!" Kandi continued with the commentary, "It's Darcy, and the Hufflepuff chasers are closing in on him, come on Darcy, don't let them get it! And he passes back to Kamen, who drops the quaffle straight down to Dierna, who is streaking down the field... and its good! 10 points to Gryffindor!"  
  
Twenty minutes later, the score was 50 to 30, in favor of Gryffindor, wit still no sight of the golden snitch. Dierna winced a little as she pulled a sharp turn, and knew that she was going to be hurting by the time the game finished, but figured that on the whole, she was holding up pretty well.  
  
"And Dierna passes the quaffle to Kamen. He may be a bit of a player, but this is one girl who wouldn't mind taking a chance with him." Kandi jumped a row of bleachers to put more space between herself and her head of house, who didn't look overly thrilled with her commentary, and Professor Black, who was trying to cover his amusement with displeasure.  
  
"Oh fuck!" Kandi swore and barely managed to avoid Professor Lupin's reach, as a bludger slammed into Kamen, "that bludger came out of nowhere, and Kamen drops the quaffle, Hufflepuff back in possession, heading towards the goal... wait a minute, the seekers have spotted the snitch! Go Bridget, go!!! And Bridget Wood has caught the snitch! That's 150 points, and a Gryffindor victory!"  
  
"Excellent game everyone!" Nick congratulated his players, "however..."  
  
The team gave a collective groan.  
  
"However, Lena, you need to work at covering our players better, you let too many bludgers get by you. Chasers, there was some sloppy passing out there today, we're going to start working on some new maneuvers and better communication at our next practice. Bridget," Nick put an arm around his little sister, "excellent work, but see if you can't get the snitch a little faster next time, that was a little too close for comfort."  
  
"Yeah, well next time why don't you work on not letting so many quaffles past you brother dear," Bridget stuck her tongue out at Nick.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Great game guys!" Serena came bounding into the locker room, followed by Nimue and Sophia.  
  
As the Snape siblings rehashed the game, play by play, William made his way over to Sophia. "So, how did you like your first quidditch game?"  
  
Sophia's eyes were large, "parts of it were kind of scary, but it was really exciting. Could you teach me how to fly?" She looked at William's broom with hopeful eyes.  
  
"Sure, you can come to practice sometime and I'll let you practice on my broom, either beforehand or afterwards."  
  
Serena and Nimue joined the other girls on their half of the locker room as they changed out of their quidditch gear. By the time Lena and Bridget were changed and off to the Common Room to celebrate Dierna had only started.  
  
"You're taking an awfully long time," Serena commented.  
  
"I'm trying to put of the ensuing storm as long as possible," Dierna said as she pulled a clean shirt over her head, wincing, and knowing that she would have an ugly bruise on her side later, from where she had been grazed with a bludger.  
  
"Yeah, I'd avoid Dad too if I were you." Nimue played with the ends of her hair, "he is going to be soooo mad."  
  
"Thanks, for those words of encouragement," Dierna threw a towel at her little sister.  
  
"You probably should have taken a bludger to the head, he would have been too worried to be angry," Serena inserted.  
  
Dierna rolled her eyes, "so, what do you think the chances of me making it back to Common Room without a confrontation are?"

* * *

Cadmus paced the outer sanctuary, wondering why he had yet again been summoned by the head priestess.  
  
"Cadmus, I have a request to make," Rheia spoke with tone that resonated, as she regally made her way into the outer sanctuary.  
  
"I was not aware that you made requests, I only thought you gave orders," Cadmus said as he bowed to the ancient woman.  
  
Rheia leveled him with an icy gaze, "I will allow your insolence man, because you have always served the goddess well. You will go to Britain. I want a first hand account of how Kalliope's task is going."  
  
"How much do you think they will find out?" Macnair asked from his seat.

* * *

"Nothing of consequence," Draco swirled the drink in his hand. "They may have our man, but one of the interrogators also belongs to us. He will make sure that his memory is wiped."  
  
"Are you concerned at all?"  
  
"No."  
  
"But..."  
  
"Those fools at the Ministry know nothing! Least of all that muggle loving Weasel... he will regret meddling in our affairs."  
  
"And Snape?"  
  
"Ahhh yes, our dear friend Severus. That really wasn't wise of him to provide the Ministry with a list of our supporters, we shall deal with him yet. Although next time make sure your son doesn't screw things up!"  
  
"But, sir," Macnair stammered, "it is not my son's fault, he made sure that Snape's daughter was poisoned, if Eric had not interfered..."  
  
"Yes, Eric's usefulness is beginning to fade, however, I'm sure our dark lord will want to have some say in his fate. We will have to wait till he is brought back to power to deal with Eric."  
  
"And our plans for Snape?"  
  
"Voldemort will also want some time with him, although I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I finished the job. I will make sure that Severus dies, very very slowly. He murdered my father, and he will pay for it."  
  
"And until then?"  
  
"We will work at slowly tearing his family apart, we shall see how strong he is without his family by his side. But, we also have young MacNeill to deal with. Oh yes, I have a feeling that he will prove to be quite useful."

* * *

"I miss playing quidditch! That year I spent of the Ecuador team, man, that was amazing."  
  
"That was a good game today, and I know how you feel. I never played professionally, but I was on my house team here." Charlie grinned, "it would be great to have those days back..."  
  
"Yeah, but I don't think you'd like to give up what you have now either, eh? A beautiful wife... I bet there's all sorts of games you can play with one of those that would blow quidditch away," Alberto flashed a lopsided grin and winked, "but look, I've made Zach blush, come on Zach, I'm sure Charlie could tell some great stories, after all, think of all the work and... research... that he must have put into producing five kids."  
  
Charlie cleared his throat and rushed to change the subject, "did you play quidditch Zach?  
  
"You're no fun, I hope you realize that," Alberto said irritably; however the other two men ignored him.  
  
"Yeah, I played in school. And last year in Australia, the group of dragon handlers I was with formed a team. We played against another study group in the area, just for fun."  
  
"Zach! Come quick! The Common Welshes around the forest are going crazy!"

* * *

"Hey Celeste!" Kamen caught up with the Head Girl, "what did you think of the game today?"  
  
"It was a good game, you played well."  
  
"Thanks," he gave a lopsided grin and shook the hair out of his eyes, "I got you these," he handed her a bunch of daisies, "I heard they're your favorite."  
  
Celeste took the flowers from him, "they are, but why..."  
  
"I'm just a nice guy."  
  
Celeste raised an eyebrow, "that's not what I've heard."  
  
Kamen made a show of looking affronted , "hey, I was just trying to be nice, but if in gratitude for the flowers you'd like to go on a date with me..." Celeste shoved the flowers back into his arms and walked away without another word. "Oh, she wants me," Kamen had never felt so confidant.

* * *

"Almost there," Dierna looked triumphant, "one more hallway, and I'll be free."  
  
"Just a minute Adelaide."  
  
Dierna had to bite her tongue to keep from swearing, she turned around with a false smile, "Dad, did you like the game?"  
  
Severus crossed his arms over his chest and merely watched his daughter as emotions chased across her face.  
  
Dierna sighed in defeat, "you girls can go ahead, I'll catch up with you later," she gave Serena, Sophia, and Nimue a regretful look.  
  
"That's not necessary," Severus cut in, "I know you want to celebrate your victory with you friends. I just want you to know that we are going to have a little talk later." 


	44. Chapter 44

Kylie tried to catch her breath long enough to answer the questions Zach was throwing at her as the three men followed her back towards the forest. "I don't know what's going on, but it looks like we may have an intruder on our hands. I ran to find you as soon as the dragons started going crazy."   
  
Zach's look was grim, "have you noticed any strange activity today? Have there been any signs of movement in the forest?"   
  
"There was a bit more bird activity today," Kylie tripped on a root, but Alberto caught her before she fell. She had a reputation as the group klutz, but the slim brunette never made a mistake when it came to dragon handling.   
  
As they came closer to the forest there was a sudden uproar. At least seven of the other handlers rushed to try and subdue the largest of the Common Welsh Greens, the large female had something, or someone, caught in her iron jaws.   
  
Just as the men and Kylie reached the scene of commotion, the other handlers managed to stun the dragon. And to pry a man, with a torn up leg, away from her.   
  
"Well, what do we have here?" Alberto's face was nearly black with rage as he lifted the bloodied man from the ground, "it looks like a death eater to me, let's just finish the job..." he pointed his wand at the man's throat.   
  
"Put him down Alberto." Zach's tone was deadly even.   
  
"He deserves to die!"   
  
"He needs to be questioned."   
  
Alberto swore, and dropped the death eater's limp for to the ground. Where the injured man made whining sounds, as he clutched his leg.   
  
"Were there any others?" Zach looked around at the rest of his assembled team.   
  
"We've got one here," a couple of the other men through down another death eater, who they had tied and gagged.   
  
"Zach," Charlie spoke up, "we need to take them to the school. We can set up a holding area for now until we can contact Ministry officials. Trustworthy Ministry officials," Charlie corrected himself.

* * *

Dierna watched the celebration from her seat on the floor. Some of the students had managed to procure a large quantity of butter beer, and her brother and his friends were passing around something a bit stronger.   
  
"Want some Dierna?" Kamen offered her a bottle.

"No thanks, I have to go 'talk' with Dad later. If he smells that on me I'll be in even more trouble."   
  
"All the more reason to show up totally sloshed. If you're intoxicated he might forget about all the other stuff." When Dierna didn't look amused Kamen turned serious, "you're not regretting that you played today, are you?"   
  
Dierna smiled, "not at all. This is just cruel. Dad could have yelled at me already and been done with it. But instead, he leaves me to sit here, worrying about how much trouble I'm gonna be in, when I could be enjoying one hell of a party."

* * *

"What about flowers?"   
  
"What about flowers?" Stefan looked back at Viviane, confusion written all over his face.   
  
Viviane rolled her eyes, "what kind of flowers do I want at my wedding?"   
  
"I don't know," Stefan shrugged, "how about those pink ones?"   
  
"_Those pink ones?_ Boy Stefan, you sure are a lot of help."   
  
"Hey! I was being serious. You have that pink stuff around the bottom of your dress, I thought that pink flowers would look nice with it."   
  
Viviane laughed, "this is why I'm scared about leaving wedding plans in Colin's care, but now..."  
  
Stefan grinned, "It's not long now."   
  
Viviane smiled back at him, "but it's still too long for me."

* * *

"The least he could have done was tell me where he was going to be," Dierna muttered to herself as she walked along the dark hallway. She had left the celebration early, the 'impending doom', as she had called it, hanging over her head didn't make her feel like celebrating much. And now, having failed to find her father in his office, she was on her way to her parent's apartments.   
  
Not bothering to knock, she entered the living room of her parents' apartment. Where her father was reading the Daily Prophet, and her mother was curled up on the couch reading a book.   
  
Severus looked up when his daughter entered the room. He set aside his paper and stood up; he raised a hand and beckoned her over with one finger. "Well young lady, what were you thinking today? I told you that you would not be playing in that quidditch match, but you deliberately disobeyed me, why?"   
  
Dierna bristled with anger, "I am fine! You saw me play today, there is nothing wrong with me."   
  
"Dammit Dierna! You almost died, I don't know what I have to do to get through to you, but you refuse to recognize the seriousness of the situation," Severus towered over his daughter, he hadn't intended to yell at her like this, but she was so infuriating sometimes...  
  
"But Daddy," Dierna pouted and widened her eyes in false innocence, "I know how serious the situation was, but I'm fine now. And I needed to play in the game today, so that I could prove to myself that I was better. I thought that if I played you wouldn't be mad at me, because it means that I really am better now. I wanted you to be proud of me for winning."

"Your daughter is an excellent actress," Morgan inserted from where she remained curled up on the couch.   
  
"Thanks a lot Mum," Dierna glared at her mother.   
  
Morgan smiled sweetly, "you were asking for it with that one darling, "if I can't get away with the false innocence act, than neither can you."

Dierna's shoulders slumped in defeat, and she dropped into the nearest chair, "fine, you win, I shouldn't have played in the quidditch game, I was wrong, and I'm almost sorry, can I go now?"   
  
Severus took a deep breath, and tried his hardest to be patient, "Dierna, this is not a battle of the wits, you are in a lot of trouble young lady. You had better not ever pull a stunt like this again, is that understood?"   
  
Dierna mumbled something incomprehensible.   
  
"What was that?"   
  
"I said," her temper flared, and she came to her feet to stand facing her father "that if you weren't so damn overprotective, maybe I could live my life the way I want to, without you interfering all the time! I hate it, and I hate all your bloody rules, and the way you try to control my life. Leave me the hell alone!" Dierna's look was fierce, she was seething.

There was a long silent pause. Severus ran his thumb across the tips of his fingers as he looked down at his daughter. Finally he spoke, in his most dangerous voice, it was hardly above a whisper, but it sounded loud in the deadly silent room, "Never speak to me like that again."   
  
"I will do whatever..."

"Sit down and be quiet."   
  
Dierna stood her ground and glared at her father, "no."   
  
"SIT DOWN!!!"   
  
Dierna dropped back into her seat. She fought back the strong urge to cry, she was determined not to show any weakness. She became very interested in a design on the rug at her feet.   
  
"Sev..." there was a gentle pleading tone in Morgan's voice. She looked at her husband, and when he met her eyes, she gave him the slightest nod of encouragement.   
  
Severus cupped his daughter's chin in his large hand, and raised her face up. But she refused to meet his gaze, "look at me Dierna," he commanded. "I can wait all night if I have to, but you are going to look at me, and we are going to finish this discussion. I would have thought that you'd like to get this over with instead of prolonging it."   
  
Reluctantly Dierna raised her eyes to her father's face.   
  
"Good girl. Now we still have several issues to deal with. First, as your teacher, I need to punish you for sneaking out of the hospital wing. I think a detention is in order."   
  
Dierna opened her mouth to protest, but thought better of it.   
  
"And secondly, you deliberately disobeyed me today when you decided to play in that quidditch game. And more importantly, you put yourself at risk for further injury, when you were already unwell. That was irresponsible. It appears that I need to keep a closer eye on you. You, young lady, are grounded for a week."

Dierna's look was wary, "how are you going to ground me at school?"   
  
"Simple, you are staying here for the next week. Other than classes and meal times you will be in this apartment."   
  
Dierna started to protest, "but..."  
  
"Do you really want to argue with me further?"   
  
"No sir."

* * *

"Are you going to stay tonight?"   
  
"I was planning on it, if you want me."   
  
"Do I give you any reason to doubt?" Remus ran his hands down Kalliope's back, reveling in her soft scent.   
  
Kalliope smiled, "no," she accepted his kisses eagerly. "Remus?"   
  
"Hmmm?"   
  
"What's going to happen to us?"   
  
Remus broke away from her and studied the priestess' face in the dim light.   
  
"What happens when I get summoned back to the temple? Do I go, or do I stay here with you?"   
  
"I can't make that decision for you, but I think you know what I want."   
  
"Remus, I'm sorry," Kalliope got up and headed towards the door, "I just need a little time on my own."

* * *

"Are you going to sit there and glare at me for the rest of the night?" Severus looked over the top of his book at Dierna.   
  
Dierna deliberately tucked her feet under her, making herself more comfortable in the oversized chair, "I was planning on it."  
  
"You're acting very immature, stop sulking and go to bed."   
  
"I'm not tired."   
  
"Are you still determined to hate me?"   
  
"Yes."   
  
"You will get over it in time."   
  
"Probably, but I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts."   
  
Severus set his book aside, "come here."  
  
Dierna crossed the room and slid onto the couch next to her father, and laid her head on his shoulder.

"I hope you realize that I do not enjoy yelling at you, I don't enjoy having to punish you, but you have a tendency to force my hand. Why do you always have to push the limits Dierna?"   
  
Dierna shrugged, "don't know." She picked up the book he had set aside and started leafing through it. "Dad?"   
  
"What?" Severus wrapped an arm around his daughter and gently rubbed her shoulder.   
  
"Are you ever going to tell me about the project that I've been helping you with?"  
  
Severus sighed, he had been hoping she wouldn't change the subject, but he let it go, "I suppose now is as good a time as any." Severus spoke carefully, as though there were something he was trying to avoid.   
  
"Really?" Dierna sat up, "what is it?"   
  
There was a slight pause as Severus considered his next words, "I'm hoping to come up with an improvement on the Wolfsbane potion."   
  
Dierna frowned, "but you wouldn't let me help make the Wolfsbane potion because you said it was too advanced for me. Why can I help with this?"   
  
"I'm hoping to be able to cut out a few of the more complicated steps. I would also like to alter it so that it cancels out any transformation in a werewolf." He didn't look at Dierna as he spoke, he gazed instead into the depths of the fire in the hearth.  
  
Dierna sat in thoughtful silence for awhile, "why would I have to research blood sacrifices for that?"   
  
Severus' look was serious, "because we're going to try some old magic that is now nearly forgotten."

* * *

Nimue sat across from Kalliope on the floor as the sun cast its first golden rays over the school.   
  
"We're going to work on clearing your mind today," Kalliope said in a soft, yet powerful voice. "Close your eyes and open up your senses. Listen to my voice, but also become aware of all that is going on around you. Hear the wind, listen to it. You must learn its language, and it will speak to you."   
  
Nimue breathed in deeply, and tried to do as she was told. They were on top of the astronomy tower, and the early morning breeze caught at her hair, but she wasn't sure what she was listening for.   
  
"Relax child, you're trying too hard. The goddess will show you what to do. You must give yourself up to your senses and let Her come into you. This is powerful magic, but you are more than capable if handling it, you are one of Hers, the goddess has clearly marked you."   
  
Nimue felt all the tension going out of her body, she focused on Kalliope's voice, but also let her senses wander. Her breathing sounded loud in her ears, but it also sounded like it was coming from somewhere far away. As the wind blew around her she could almost hear voices. The wind caressed her cheeks like fingers, they wound through her hair, tangling it. It was almost as though the wind was playing with her...  
  
"What is it telling you child?"   
  
Nimue smiled, "that the days are becoming colder, it regrets the discomfort that it will cause for us. But that it is always just a bit warmer in the vale of Avalon, the priestesses will be expecting us there shortly after the first snowfall."   
  
"Congratulations Nimue, you just called up the realm of visions."   
  
Nimue opened her eyes and blinked against the bright sunlight that now flooded the sky, "but I didn't see anything."   
  
"No, but you don't have to 'see' anything to create that connection. The realm of visions is simply a term we use to describe anything that we use to gain information through a magical connection. While actual visions are commonly used, the world around us can also tell us a great deal. The four elements, earth, fire, wind, and water, are all a part of the goddess."   
  
"What does that mean?"   
  
"It means that using magic we can connect with the elements, just as we use magic to call up visions. You just performed some very complicated magic a moment ago when you spoke with the wind, I have a feeling that since it was the first element you connected with it will claim you."   
  
"How can the wind claim me?"   
  
Kalliope thought for a moment, trying to decide the best way to explain, "it is the form that the goddess has chosen to speak to you through, it also means that you will have a certain degree of control over the wind. The form the goddess uses to speak to Sophia is water, she can see visions in the water. The goddess connected with me through fire," Kalliope made a small waving motion with her hand and a small flame appeared, nestled in her palm, "I can summon fire with little effort. If you ever find yourself in danger summon the wind, it will act as your guardian.   
"I think this may also explain why you have had so much pain during visions."   
  
"Why would that make a difference?" Nimue wrapped her arms around her legs and propped her chin on her knees.   
  
"Because you hadn't found a comfortable way to see them. I have troubles seeing visions in the scrying bowl, but I can easily see them in the flames. But Sophia can see the visions with the most accuracy when she uses the scrying bowl. Priestesses who connect through the earth can call up visions without the use of any physical tool. And priestesses who connect with the wind use mirrors."   
  
"I saw one vision in the mirror, it still hurt, but it wasn't as bad as the others."   
  
"We'll have to get you a bronze mirror from the temple, I think that should help."

"There's so much to learn..."  
  
"But you are doing an excellent job," Kalliope smiled, "you will make an excellent priestess, if that is the path you choose to follow."

* * *

"Why do I have to serve my detention now?"   
  
"Why do you have to question everything I tell you to do?" Severus almost smiled at the sulky tone of Dierna's voice.   
  
"Because I can."   
  
"Hmmm... well, we can only hope that you'll eventually grow out of it."

Dierna continued to drag her feet as she followed several steps behind her father, and she stuck her tongue out at the back of his head. It almost made her feel better.   
  
When they reached the entrance to Severus' office he held the door open and waited for Dierna to catch up and precede him in.   
  
"Should I start cleaning?"   
  
"No, I actually had something else in mind."   
  
Dierna looked wary, "but you always have me clean your office when I have a detention."   
  
Severus raised an eyebrow, "but I'm still not convinced that you are completely well, so no physical labor for you." He pulled a chair up to his desk and directed his daughter into it. He set parchment and a quill in front of her, "I want a five page essay."   
  
"On what?" Dierna silently begged for something potions related.   
  
"On why it is not a good idea to sneak out of the Hospital Wing."   
  
Dierna groaned and buried her face in her hands, this just wasn't fair.


	45. Chapter 45

* * *

"Hello priestess!"

"Cadmus!" Kalliope threw her arms around the warrior's neck.   
  
Cadmus laughed, his white teeth gleaming through his beard, "well this is a nice welcome. Have you changed your mind about my offer?"   
  
Kalliope shook her finger at him, "shame on you Cadmus, when are you going to learn the meaning of the word 'no'?"   
  
"You can't blame a man for trying, especially when the woman is as beautiful as you."   
  
Kalliope rolled her eyes, "why are you here warrior?"   
  
"Well first the important business," he pulled out a small package wrapped in leather, "close your eyes."   
  
Kalliope gave him a questioning look, but went along with it. Once her eyes were closed she felt something cool around her throat.   
  
"How do you like it?"   
  
Kalliope opened her eyes and looked down, "oh Cadmus it is beautiful," she fingered the blue beads on the necklace.   
  
"Its lapis, I thought a regal priestess such as you should have something truly royal."   
  
"Do you realize that the only two pieces of jewelry I own came from you?"   
  
Cadmus smiled, "well, from the way you're glowing I'd say that you have found another man to give you jewelry."   
  
Kalliope instantly changed the subject, "so why did Rheia send you here?"

* * *

Sirius frowned at the note in his hand. He hadn't recognized the owl that brought it or the handwriting. He thought for a long moment. The sender, whoever they were, requested his presence at the Three Broomsticks at noon.   
  
He glanced at the clock, and realized he had just enough time to walk there. He tucked his wand into his pocket, making sure that it was readily accessible should he need it.   
  
During the walk into Hogsmead he tried to come up with an answer as to who would have sent him that note. But none of the guesses he formulated made sense. He only hoped that he wasn't walking into a trap.

He also hoped that if this turned out to be a trap of some kind he would be able to handle it. He didn't like that the two death eaters who had been caught were being held at the school. If only he could be certain that this didn't have anything to do with them...  
  
Sirius warily entered the Three Broomsticks, his quick gaze sweeping the crowed room. So far he had noticed nothing out of the ordinary when suddenly his legs were attacked.   
  
Sirius smiled down at the top of a head of straight black hair that belonged to the most adorable four year old ever, as she clung to her legs. "This is a nice surprise," he said as he swung Willow up into his arms. The little girl giggled and buried her face in his shoulder, "and what will be an even nicer surprise is if your mother is here too." He looked up into the brilliant blue eyes of his fiancé.   
  
"Hello Sirius," Elizabeth Darcy rested her hand against Sirius' chest as brushed his lips with a soft kiss. "Your girls were lonely for you, and we were rather hoping that you were feeling a bit lonely for us."   
  
"Of course I was, how could I not be lonely for the two most beautiful women in all of Britain?" He wrapped an arm around Elizabeth's waist, "and now I suppose the chivalrous thing for me to do is buy you lovely ladies lunch."   
  
The trio headed to a table and Sirius couldn't keep the grin off of his face as he sat down with Elizabeth across from him and Willow next to him, this was the way it was supposed to be. Now if only William would come around...  
  
Once they had their drinks, and Willow was too busy playing with her straw to notice anything else, Elizabeth leaned forward a bit and spoke quietly, "there's another reason why we came to see you now. I received a letter from Remus; he was feeling pretty bad about the way he treated you concerning a young lady from Greece."   
  
Sirius swallowed roughly, "Elizabeth, I'm so sorry, I didn't know..."  
  
"Shhhhh... Sirius I'm not mad at you. I just want you to know that I'm here for you, no matter what."

Sirius looked into the eyes that he loved so much as he raised her hand to his lips, "thank you, I want you to know that..."  
  
"Sirius?" Willow interrupted.   
  
"Willow, don't interrupt." Elizabeth gently corrected her daughter.   
  
Willow bit her lip uncertainly, and looked between her mother and her future step-father.   
  
Sirius gave Elizabeth a small smile before turning back to Willow, "yes, my darling Miss Willow, can I help you with something?"   
  
Willow giggled a bit at the silly face Sirius made at her, but then made a serious face, "we have to talk," she said in a manner far too old for her four years.   
  
"Am I in trouble?" Sirius asked, wearing a particularly comic expression.   
  
Willow laughed into her hand, "no, but you're really silly."   
  
"I'm sorry I acted silly, now what is this serious talk we need to have?"   
  
Willow frowned a bit, "last night I had to go to bed early," she pouted, "I wasn't very good yesterday."   
  
"It's hard to be good sometimes," Sirius sympathized with her.   
  
"When you're my daddy will you make me go to bed early too?"   
  
Sirius leaned in close until he was nose to nose with his future step- daughter, "I'll make a deal with you, you be just as good as you can be, and we'll never have to find out."

Willow frowned at him for a moment, "Mama says that you're gonna be a... a..." she struggled for the word, "pushover when it comes to me, is she right?"   
  
Sirius laughed as he hugged the little girl tightly, he couldn't wait to be married and a true family man.

* * *

"How are you coming with that essay?"   
  
Dierna frowned at the papers in front of her, she had spent a good five hours on this damn essay, it had taken her longer than she planned. The final blow had come when her father handed her a dictionary and told her that every word had to be spelled correctly. "It's done." She handed the parchment over to her father. "Can I go now?" she pleaded.   
  
"No, you will stay here while I read this, and then I have a few things you can help me prepare for my classes tomorrow."   
  
Dierna sat back in her chair huffily; she had been hoping to sneak out for awhile. Her plans thwarted she picked up a book and paged through it, looking for something interesting.

"Your command of colorful and obscene language is really quite pronounced," Severus commented dryly as he read through the essay. "This is absolutely appalling;" he set the papers down, "well written, but appalling."   
  
Dierna smiled sweetly, "you didn't tell me I couldn't use language like that. In fact, I followed you instructions perfectly. All you said was five pages and no spelling errors; I think you'll find that I met those requirements."   
  
Severus frowned at her, "and of course you're impertinent enough to find a way to make this punishment into something for your own enjoyment."   
  
"Of course. Didn't you like the part where I described what I thought of overprotective parents?" She quoted a couple of lines from her paper, looking as angelic as possible.   
  
Severus continued to frown at her, "I ought to wash your mouth out with soap for that language." He crossed his arms over his chest menacingly.   
  
Dierna's grin turned wicked, "but I got that phrase from you. Isn't it nice that I used something you taught me?"   
  
Severus looked sternly into her bright green eyes, which were sparkling in amusement. "You're going to get yourself into a lot of trouble someday with this attitude of yours."   
  
"I thought I already was in trouble."

Severus shook his head at her flippancy, "there are much worse things than a detention and a grounding young lady, and it's high time you learned it. You are stubborn to a fault and have more guts then common sense. You nearly died and this," he brandished her essay, "is your response."   
  
"Dad it's not a big deal. I had a little fun during detention, what's wrong with that?"   
  
"Adelaide, you are young, but that's not an excuse for your behavior in this situation. This is going to stop now. You will serve out the rest of your punishment with good grace and no more of this defiant attitude. Is that clear?"   
  
"But Dad..."  
  
"Just do as you are told."

* * *

"Have you questioned them?" Ron Weasley asked Zach as they came to the holding area where the two death eaters were being kept. He had been sent, along with several other aurors to retrieve the two prisoners.   
  
"No, we thought it best to wait till Ministry officials arrived."   
  
"Dad!"   
  
Ron turned around and smiled as he children rushed up to hug him. He gladly embraced them back and gave Andromache a quick kiss on the cheek while he ruffled fourteen year old Hektor's hair and eleven year old Helen clung to his arm.   
  
"Why didn't you come see us first?" Helen pouted.   
  
Ron smiled a bit grimly, "I'm here on Ministry business. You three run along, when I'm done I'll come find you."   
  
As the two men continued down the hallway Zach let the curiosity get the better of him, "I've noticed that there are an awful lot of Weasleys in this school."   
  
Ron grinned, "Yes there are, I'm one of seven and our children certainly make up a good portion of the student body. There's my three that you just saw, plus I have one still at home, Gwen, she'll be here in a couple of years. Let's see... Charlie's five are still too young, Bill has one that started this year, and one still at home. Fred and George both have six children, four of Fred's are here, and three of George's. And Ginny has two here and one still at home."   
  
Zach noticed that Ron had left out one of his siblings, but didn't comment on it. "I bet holidays are a mad house."   
  
"Yep, it gets a bit crazy. Plus Alberto usually spends the holidays with us, that's always interesting. I'm sure that he and Charlie will insist that you spend Christmas with us this year, unless you have other family you'd like to spend it with."   
  
Zach shook his head, "no, there's no one in my family that I spend the holidays with."   
  
"Good! I'll go ahead and tell my parents to expect you this year, Christmas is coming up quick."   
  
"Thank you," Zach said sincerely, the few members of this family that he had already met he enjoyed tremendously. And for the first time in years he found himself actually looking forward to Christmas. "Now, I suppose we better get back to business. The death eaters are right in here."

* * *

Later that evening Dierna curled up on the sofa with a book she had taken from her father's office. She was lost to the world when she read, unaware of everything going on around her. So she jumped with surprise when someone sat down beside her.   
  
"Hey beautiful, I was kinda hoping for a warmer greeting than this, you've been ignoring me."   
  
"Stefan," Dierna whispered, her eyes wide, as she threw her arms around his neck.   
  
"That's more like it," he held her close to him, as he fought back tears; he had missed her so much during the last few months.   
  
"Come on Sev, give them some time alone," Morgan pulled at her husband, practically dragging him to their bedroom. She could see that he wasn't pleased with her.   
  
"They should not be left alone," he growled at her once they reached their bedroom and Morgan had shut the door.   
  
"They don't need constant supervision Sev, give them some space, it's been three months since they've seen each other."   
  
Severus continued to glare at her.   
  
"I'm sure I can take your mind off of it," she bit her lower lip as she ran her hand across his chest.   
  
But not even that could sway his attention, still upset he sat down in a chair next to the bed, glaring at the door to the living room, as though he hoped to see through it.   
  
"Let it go Sev, they're fine," Morgan lowered herself into his lap, gently cupping his face between her small hands. "I'll let you go back out there soon, just relax for awhile," she kissed him, and relaxed when he kissed her back, his arms coming around her. "This is more like it," she smiled at him and laid her head against his shoulder.   
  
"I still don't like it..."  
  
"You don't have to like it darling, just accept it."   
  
"She's too young."   
  
"She is not too young, you just worry too much."   
  
Severus started a sharp reply, but stopped when he saw his wife was baiting him. "Stop trying to look so innocent," he growled at her.

She only smiled sweetly at him, "but I am innocent Sev, a perfect angel."   
  
His eyebrows shot up, "that is the last term I would use to describe you."   
  
Morgan smiled wickedly, "Severus Snape, you know that I'm angelic, and sweet, and innocent, lovable, charming... should I keep going?"   
  
Severus looked at her with ill concealed amusement, "what happened to you last time you tried to give me the list of your 'virtues'?"   
  
Morgan blushed, "let's not talk about that."   
  
Severus smirked at her, "how long was it before you could sit down again?"   
  
She glared at him before snuggling back down into his embrace, "I promise that list really does apply to me this time."   
  
Severus only smiled and kissed the top of her head, "have I given them enough time yet?"   
  
Morgan rolled her eyes, "fine, go play chaperone if you want."

* * *

Dierna was amazed at how quickly the rest of the week had passed, only one more day and she would be free! Stefan had been to see her every day. He wasn't able to tell her about his mission, but did tell her that it was under new orders. Ron Weasley was now heading it, with several other aurors assisting.   
  
Dierna practically skipped back to her parents' apartment after Potions class Friday afternoon. By this time tomorrow she should be back in the Gryffindor common room.   
  
She set down her school bad in the middle of the floor, knowing it would irritate her father. She smiled wickedly, she had spent the entire week trying to provoke him and it had worked. Even though he ended up yelling at her every night she still enjoyed aggravating him.   
  
She slid into her bedroom, quickly changing clothes before looking for her mother. Morgan was usually back by now, and she wanted to show her an essay she had gotten back. "Mum!" Dierna called for her, but got no response.   
  
She went to the door to her parents' bedroom and carefully eased it open, looking inside, "Mum? Are you in here?" She scanned the room from where she stood, and then went very pale. "What happened?" She rushed over to her mother.   
  
But it didn't take her long to figure it out. She knelt beside her mother, who was sobbing. Although Dierna hadn't known that her mother had been pregnant, the blood stained sheet that she had wrapped around her was evidence that she had lost her unborn child. Dierna wrapped her arms around her mother, gently rocking her back and forth, tears filling her own eyes.   
  
Dierna was terrified; she didn't know how to comfort her mother. She felt so lost as she cradled her sobbing mother against her shoulder. Her first thought was to go find her dad, but she knew she couldn't leave. She just knelt on the floor, doing the best she could.

* * *

Kalliope turned to frown at Cadmus as he trailed her down the hallway. He had been doing this for most of the past week, "Are you ever going to leave me alone?"   
  
"No."   
  
"I would have thought that you would show some respect for a priestess' wishes."   
  
"I am, I'm following Rheia's orders."   
  
Kalliope continued to frown at him, "but you are also obligated to follow mine."   
  
"That's true, even more than you know."   
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"   
  
"Wouldn't you like to know, miss high and mighty priestess? Don't tell me that an oracle such as yourself doesn't know everything?"

Kalliope put her hands on her hips, her head held high, "stop talking nonsense Cadmus and tell me what you're going on about."   
  
Cadmus shrugged, "just that Rheia has named you as her successor, she intends for you to be the next high priestess."   
  
Kalliope raised an eyebrow, "is that all?"   
  
"I thought that would have been enough."   
  
"Cadmus, she has named more successors than I can count, and outlived them all. Why should I be any different?"   
  
"Because Rheia is dying."   
  
Kalliope studied him closely, looking for any signs that he was joking with her, "you are sure?"   
  
"Yes, it may still take her a few years yet, but she will go. And there is more. She has refused to make Sophia a priestess at the next festival, your ward will have to wait at least another year."   
  
Kalliope sighed, "She's going to be disappointed. I suppose this has to do with her trips down to your camp?"   
  
Cadmus smiled, "that and her complete disregard for authority."

Kalliope sank down on a stone bench, "that girl has only gotten wilder since I brought her here, I don't want to think about the trouble she'll get in when we return to the temple."   
  
"She is restless."   
  
Kalliope nodded, "perhaps I shouldn't have told her about her parentage, it has only made things worse..."  
  
"But it was the right thing to do. Besides, when you marry this wizard she'll have the two of you as parents."   
  
Kalliope blushed slightly, "I am not getting married."   
  
Cadmus winked at her, "I don't have to be a seer to know when two people are in love."


	46. Chapter 46

* * *

Severus tried to ignore the headache that was starting to form behind his eyes; this had felt like the day that would never end. He had only two classes on Fridays, but they had both been horrible. He found himself almost wishing that Minerva would let Filch have his way with the students, perhaps then they'd have the decency to behave in class. Particularly his daughter...  
  
He frowned at Dierna's bag lying in the middle of the floor as he entered his apartments. Some days he wanted to throttle that girl; this was definitely one of them. He stepped around her strewn belongings and headed to his and Morgan's bedroom.   
  
When he opened the door he felt as though his heart stopped for a moment. He closed his eyes briefly against the scene in front of him, mentally asking the fates why they tormented his wife like this. Morgan had stopped sobbing, but she was still shaking, lying against Dierna's shoulder, supported by her daughter's arms.   
  
Severus instantly forgot about his headache as he softly made his way across the room. He knelt in front of his wife, gently taking her face between his hands, "Morgan," he said softly "look at me. This is not your fault in any way." He felt at least fifty years older, as he helped his wife to her feet, "let's get you in the tub. Once you're cleaned up you're going to rest for awhile." He saw his trembling wife to the bathroom and left her there.   
  
He turned back to order Dierna out of the room, but all his harsh words died in his throat as he looked at her stricken face. He offered her a hand and helped her up of the floor, "are you alright?" 

Dierna looked up at her father with large, scared eyes, "I think so," her voice shook a little. She almost cried when her father enfolded her in his strong embrace, roughly kissing the top of her head. "Thank you for being there for her. Your mother..." but he cut himself off when Misty came sniffing into the room.   
  
"I is so sorry master, I saw the blood and Mistress Snape crying, but I didn't know what to do!" the little house elf sobbed.   
  
Severus sighed, "It's alright Misty. Right now I want you to keep an eye on Morgan for a few minutes."   
  
"Yes sir, master Snape sir, of course sir." Misty hurried to comply.   
  
"And you," Severus gently cupped Dierna's hand in his chin, "I want you to see if you can get some tea for your mother."

"Yes sir."

Severus closed his eyes and sighed. He knew that his wife was devastated. He wasn't aware of how long he had been standing there, lost in thought about how to handle this when Dierna reappeared, holding a tea tray. He absently ran a hand over her bright curls as he thanked her and took the tray. He prepared a cup of tea and slipped into the bathroom with it.   
  
He knelt on the warm terra cotta tiles by the side of the large, sunk in tub. Morgan was lying in the water, nearly drowning in bubbles, with her eyes closed, silent tears streaking her face. Severus stroked her face tenderly, and brushed a loose curl off of her face. "I have some tea for you."   
  
"I don't want it Sev," Morgan nearly choked on a sob, her voice tight with emotion.   
  
"I'll leave it here for you. You're going to take it easy for the next few days, I want you in our bed, resting and sleeping."   
  
"Just leave me alone."   
  
"I am not going to leave you alone Morgan. You are not the only one who is suffering here."   
  
Morgan slowly opened her eyes and looked into Severus' black ones. Her tears flowed even faster as she saw the pain in his expression, "I'm sorry Sev..."  
  
"Shhhhh... you have nothing to be sorry for."   
  
"But I wanted to give you another child so badly!"  
  
"Hush darling. Yes I would have liked to have another child, but I would rather have you."   
  
Morgan nodded vaguely as she continued to sniff, "Sev, I want to talk to you, but not right now. Can I have just a little bit of time by myself?"   
  
"Of course," Severus slowly rose, trying to remember if he had felt this old half an hour ago. He stepped back into the bedroom, hoping to be alone too, but found Dierna hovering there. He sighed; one look at her scared face told him that he couldn't just send her out now. Instead he gently took her by the arm and led her into the living room.   
  
"Is Mum going to be ok?" Dierna whispered.   
  
"Yes, it may take awhile, but she'll be fine." Severus sat down on the sofa, drawing Dierna down next to him. He held his daughter close, a dark expression flitting across his face.   
  
"Are you sure that Mum... is it really a miscarriage?"   
  
"Yes, unfortunately your mother knows all too well that she lost the child."   
  
"But couldn't it just be some bleeding, that happens sometimes." Dierna's tone was pleading.   
  
Severus stroked her auburn curls as she laid her head on his shoulder, "no, your mother can tell the difference." He paused for a moment, "there was a lot of bleeding when she was pregnant with you and Serena, she thought she was going to lose you. But this is different..."  
  
Dierna was silent for a long time after that "Do you want me to leave?" she finally asked, still whispering.   
  
Severus hesitated for a moment, "Dierna, I do need to be with your mother, and I know that she will want to see you later, but she needs a little bit of space right now. You are welcome to stay in here if you want, or you may leave. You can consider yourself ungrounded, it is a little early, but I think its best."

Dierna chewed her lower lip, obviously torn between staying or fleeing.   
  
"Go Dierna," Severus said kindly, "I know Stefan is coming to see you soon. Spend some time with him, try to enjoy yourself."   
  
Dierna mutely stood up, and headed for the door. But at the last minute she turned around and came back to hug her father and stood on tiptoe to brush a kiss on his cheek before going.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Sophia asked as she followed William, Kamen, and Serena down the dark tunnel.   
  
"Eventually, Diagon Alley," Serena answered her as she folded the Marauders' Map and stuck it in her pocket. Seeing Sophia's questioning look she continued, "It's a large wizarding district in London."   
  
"How are we going to get there?"   
  
Kamen turned around to grin at her, "this tunnel will take us to the shrieking shack, and once we're there we can travel by floo powder to Diagon Alley."   
  
"Remember not to tell anyone about this," William inserted quietly, "we're not technically supposed to leave the school."   
  
"What are we going to do there?"   
  
Kamen answered her again, his grin spreading further, "we have a little bit of shopping to do."

* * *

"What are we shopping for?" Zach asked Alberto as the two men strolled down Diagon Alley.   
  
"Birthday presents."   
  
"For who?"   
  
Alberto grinned, "Guess I forgot to tell you. We're invited to a small party tonight; Charlie's twins are going to be four."   
  
"Who's going to be there?"   
  
"Just some of Weasel's family, it'll give you a chance to meet some of them before Christmas."   
  
Zach nodded thoughtfully, "What are you going to get?"   
  
"Probably something that Meg is going to yell at me for getting them," Alberto grinned, "unless you want to go in with me on something that the dear Mrs. Charlie Weasley won't be able to throw me out of the house for."   
  
Zach couldn't help smiling, "has she really thrown you out of the house before?"   
  
"I got Diana a niffler for her sixth birthday, you should have seen there house by the time they finally caught it." 

"I would have thrown you out too."

* * *

Dierna leaned against Stefan as they watched the sun set from one of the towers. She had been quiet for most of the evening, but hadn't told him why. Her mother was still on her mind, and she just wasn't feeling up to a lot of conversation.   
  
Stefan gently smoothed her hair back as he looked into Dierna's bright eyes, "I have to leave tomorrow. The mission is starting up again."   
  
Dierna clung to him, "stay with me tonight."   
  
"I don't know if that's the best idea..."  
  
"Please Stefan. There are guest rooms in the castle that are almost never used, no one would know. I want to be with you."   
  
"Dierna, if I spend the night with you I'm going to find it very hard to be a gentleman. I don't want to compromise you in any way."   
  
"I don't care!"   
  
"Yes you do." Stefan gently kissed her, knowing that they could be headed for trouble, even as he found himself yielding. Her lips were so soft... "I'll stay."   
  
"Thank you," Dierna kissed him back more forcibly, before taking his hand. "Shall we go find a room?"   
  
Stefan turned Dierna's face up, looking her in the eye, "just remember Dierna, I love you. But I don't want to hurt you in any way. There are no guarantees that I'll make it back from this mission, but that's no reason for us to do anything rash. The last thing I want to do is leave you alone and pregnant."

* * *

Severus helped Morgan get ready for bed. Her silence unnerved him; he would rather have her take out her sorrow on him than this horrible silence. He gently settled her into their bed, lying down beside her. "Morgan darling, how are you feeling?" He brushed his fingers across her cheek.   
  
Morgan shrugged, her gaze distant and vacant. But when Severus wrapped his arms around her she came undone, sobbing against his shoulder as she shook. She cried and cried, choking on her sobs.   
  
"Morgan, I want you to stop crying," Severus told her gently but firmly, "you are going to make yourself sick, and then you are going to be even more miserable."   
  
Morgan tried to obey, but the tears kept coming, and she was trembling. She clung to Severus' shirt, soaking the front of it as she kept crying. But at the same time she was incredibly thankful that he was there, holding her. His arms felt so protective.   
  
Severus gently shifted his wife as her crying quieted and she grew limp in his arms. He almost expected her to be asleep, but when he glanced down she was staring wide eyed at nothing in particular. "Do you want something to help you sleep?"   
  
"No."   
  
"Can I get you anything?"   
  
"No."  
  
"Tell me what to do Morgan, and I'll do it. Anything that will help to take the pain away and make you feel better."   
  
"Just give me some time."

* * *

Dierna watched Stefan sleep as she lay next to him. She trailed her fingers through his dark hair, but her mind was far away. All she could think of was his earlier words, "alone and pregnant". They made her shiver.   
  
She finally lay down beside him, her head pillowed on his shoulder. Her mind spun with 'what ifs', none of them comforting. But the one that plagued her the most, as she drifted off was sleep was what she would do if Stefan didn't come back this time.

* * *

Kalliope stared moodily at the moonlight that streaked the floor of her room. There were so many decisions to make...  
  
She was still shocked by Cadmus' insistence that Rheia was dying, and the knowledge that she might soon be the head priestess. But did she still want that responsibility? There was also Remus to consider, and she wasn't willing to let him slip from her grasp again so easily.   
  
She sighed, and she still didn't know what to do with Sophia. One part of her wanted to take that girl back to the temple and immerse her in more training, preparing her to be a priestess. But she wondered how the girl would fare if she was left at Hogwarts, perhaps she would benefit from the wizarding community... 

"Mother Goddess, help me. There are so many decisions, what must I do to best serve you?"   
  
Kalliope paced the room, "can I really give up my life in Greece?" she muttered to herself, "I know Remus wants me to stay here with him..."  
  
She sighed as she turned the possibilities over in her mind. She had always assumed that she'd end her days as a priestess in Greece. But staying in Britain to be Remus' wife was looking more and more appealing. She could be with the man she loved; Sophia could live with them and have a father figure. She gave an indelicate snort, that girl needed a father figure as wild as she was getting, particularly one with a firm hand.

The more she thought about staying, the more attached she became to the idea. It would infuriate Rheia, but she was tired of putting the temple before herself. If Remus asked her to stay, she had every intention of complying. 

* * *

"I wish I could take your pain away," Severus' voice was strained as the sun began to streak the morning sky with soft colors.   
  
Morgan leaned against him sleepily. The night had been rough for both of them. "I wish I could forget..." she sighed wearily as tears pricked her eyes again, "I wish we could have known if it would have been a boy or a girl, it would have been nice to know," her voice sounded as though it came from far away, had she even voiced the thought out loud?   
  
"Dwelling on thoughts like that is not going to make this easier," Severus gently chided her. "Now," his voice was commanding, "you are going to stay in bed today and rest. And I mean all day, I am still not pleased with you for refusing to go to the hospital wing, you lost a lot of blood yesterday."   
  
"Severus, physically, I'm fine," Morgan tried to protest, "I need to get up and do things, I might go mad if I have to stay in bed."   
  
Severus gently stroked her cheek and kissed her forehead, "please humor me Morgan. As hard as it is for me to accept that we have lost our unborn child, I cannot imagine what would happen if I lost you. I want you to rest."   
  
Morgan clung to her husband, "Sev, really, I'm fine; nothing is going to happen to me. I can get up and do things."   
  
"Please Morgan, do this for me. My imagination can do crazy things when you're hurting like this. I need to know for certain that you will be alright before I let you out of this bed."   
  
"How can you stand the pain?" Morgan felt hot tears trickle down her face.   
  
"I just live life one moment at a time, and thank the fates that I have you and the five children that are with us." He kissed away her salty tears, more than happy to hold her, wishing he could ease her pain.   
  
Morgan sniffed quietly for awhile, crawling from her position next to her husband directly into his lap while she tried to contain her tears. "Are you going to stay with me today?"   
  
Severus tucked her head beneath his chin and rubbed her back, "for most of the day. Dierna was still upset when she left here last night; I want to talk to her."   
  
"Why do things like this happen?"   
  
"You know I do not have an answer for that."   
  
Morgan sighed, "I know. But it would be so much easier if there was some external force to blame, I keep wondering if I could have done something. Maybe I was too active, maybe I should have gotten more rest..."  
  
"Stop it Morgan!" Severus' tone was a bit sharper than he intended. He felt Morgan tense in his arms. "I am sorry; I did not mean to snap at you like that. Please stop blaming yourself Morgan. There is nothing else that could have been done; it is just a sad fact of life."   
  
Morgan nodded mutely, content to just sit with Severus' arms around her for the moment. After many minutes had passed she squirmed out of her husband's arms. "You go get some work done," she told him, "I'll stay here and sleep for awhile."   
  
Severus studied her for a moment, "are you sure?"   
  
Morgan nodded as she slid further under the covers, "I'll be fine here. You're right; I do need to get some more rest."   
  
Severus brushed the hair off her forehead and kissed her gently before rising to get dressed. By the time he left Morgan had drifted back to sleep, and he left Misty with strict instructions that his wife was to remain in bed.

* * *

Dierna walked towards the Forbidden Forest, her heart felt as though it were torn in two. Stefan had kissed her goodbye not long ago and left to return to work. She was so scared that she would never see him again, and all she wanted was to be alone.   
  
But the last thing she wanted was to be alone. She wanted to feel Stefan's arms around her. And she wanted to cry. But she wouldn't cry, she wasn't going to be weak.   
  
She sank down onto the soft ground at the base of a tree on the edge of the forest. She looked into the dense trees, straining to see into the darkness of the forest. It seemed so simple in there. The brutal life and death simplicity of the forest. There was a savageness of it that appealed to her. She could walk into that darkness and let it consume her, something in her longed for that. To disappear and leave all the hurt and pain behind...  
  
She sighed, but that wasn't the way life was. She stood up, brushing the loose leaves and dirt off of her as she headed back towards the school. 

* * *

"Where is she?" Severus tried to remain calm, but felt a strong surge of panic.   
  
"I is not knowing sir!" Misty wailed, "she was here, she said she was going to get a book from the living room."   
  
Severus pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, trying to figure out where his wife might have gone.   
  
"Sir," Misty tried to think of a way to help, "if it helps sir, Mistress Snape kept saying she was needing mercy."   
  
"In the name of Circe..." Severus quickly grabbed his cloak and Morgan's as he all but ran from the room.   
  
He tired to calm himself as he strode out of the castle and towards Hogsmeade. He was only too aware of how cold it had grown, and his wife was out here without her cloak. He kept walking; thankful for the time it was giving him to regain control of his temper. Not matter what he couldn't yell at his wife when he found her, it would destroy her.   
  
Finally he came to his destination, a small cemetery on the edge of town. And, just as he had predicted, Morgan was huddled on the ground in front of a granite stone marker.   
  
He came up behind her and draped her cloak around her shoulders, then settled on the ground behind her, wrapping his arms around her. "Why did you come here?" he asked her gently.   
  
Morgan ignored his question as she traced her fingers across the writing on the stone in front of them, tracing the letters with her fingers 'Mercy Noelle Snape'. "It's so small Sev, has it always been so small?"   
  
He tightened his hold on her, knowing that she just needed to talk at the moment.   
  
"Out little girl was so pretty Sev. Her skin was so soft; do you remember how small she was? But she was so cold," Morgan cried silently, tears running down her face. "I can't stop thinking about the night she was born. We got Viviane to safety, and I was supposed to follow, but that's when the death eaters came. That horrible curse, if it hadn't hit me I wouldn't have gone into labor then... our little girl would have lived, instead of dying while she was born from that horrible curse. She would have been nearly nineteen by now, do you realize that? She would have graduated and been on her own..."  
  
Morgan stopped and fingered the rose bush that was planted next to the small grave, not noticing when she cut her finger on the thorn. "And this one... we never knew if it was a boy or girl, I miscarried only two months in. If this one had made it they would have turned fifteen this year. We'll have to plant another rosebush for this last one."   
  
"I think it's time we go back to the school, you're freezing." Severus tried to ignore the single tear that ran down his face. "You need to get warm and rest."   
  
Morgan meekly complied. She was too upset to care what happened now.   
  
"Morgan," Sev gently guided her back up the road towards the school, "I hope you realize that they know we loved them. No matter how soon they were taken from us, I truly believe they knew that."   
  
Morgan stopped in her tracks and tilted her head back to look at her husband, "thank you Sev."   
  
"Tell me the truth; are you going to be alright?"   
  
Morgan nodded slowly, "It's going to take some time Sev, and I can honestly tell you that I don't want to try for another child. But I also know that in a few days I'm going to start looking forward to that Paris trip you promised me. I just need a little time to grieve, but I'm going to keep going."   
  
"Just take it one day at a time and we'll get through this."   
  
Morgan leaned against him as they resumed walking, "One day at a time... but I couldn't do it without you Sev. Thank you for being here, thank you for loving me."

* * *

authoress' note: thank you Ultrahotpink for the review! I took your advice and changed my settings so that I can accept anonymous reviews

keep the reviews coming! I love them


	47. Chapter 47

Kalliope blushed nervously when Remus reached for her hand, and then mentally cursed herself for acting like a silly little novice. But she reminded herself that it wasn't everyday that she decided to leave the only life she'd ever known, a little bit of nerves was to be expected.   
  
She sighed when he kissed her neck and continued to clutch her hand. It took all of her self control not to throw herself at him.   
  
"Stay with me."   
  
Kalliope blinked, took a deep breath, and looked into his eyes. Sweet goddess how she loved those eyes. And his soft hair, it looked good with the grey steaks that shot through the brown, very dignified... "I'll stay with you."   
  
Remus grinned a bit foolishly, although he wanted Kalliope to stay with him, he hadn't thought that she would say yes. "You'll really stay here with me?"   
  
"Yes."   
  
"You'll marry me, live here as my wife?"   
  
"Yes."   
  
"Even though you think that the wizarding society is incredibly chauvinistic?"   
  
"Umm-hmmmm..." she thought she would melt in his hands.   
  
"You'll be mine forever?"   
  
"In the name of the goddess, how many times do I have to say yes before you'll believe me Remus?!"   
  
"I just want to make sure; it's not fair to get my hopes up if it's not what you really want."   
  
"I want you Remus."   
  
"We'll have to plan everything," he was getting excited, "a wedding, a home, hopefully Sophia will want to stay with us and we can start a family..."  
  
Kalliope laughed and pressed a finger to Remus' lips, "I want all that, but I was thinking of the immediate future when I said I wanted you. Shall we head to bed?"

* * *

Neither Severus nor Morgan had thought that the next few days would pass as quickly as they had. It was now Wednesday, and Morgan was getting more and more restless at her husband's insistence that she continue to rest. In fact, it had been due to his concern, and that of their son that had caused Morgan to laugh for the first time since her miscarriage.   
  
The night before she had snuck out into the living room and was attempting to climb up on a chair to reach a book on a shelf high above her head. She had been caught red handed by her husband and son, and had received a lecture from both of them on taking care of herself and being more careful.   
  
The sight of the two of them scowling at her, so alike in height and looks had been too much for her. Morgan nearly collapsed from her fit of giggles before she managed to control herself, while Sev and Kamen continued to stand there and glower at her.  
  
Now, she had finally managed to convince her husband that she was ready to go back to teaching her classes. She was looking forward to having something to help fill the hours, and was now feeling enough like her normal self to become concerned about Dierna, who was still sulking about Stefan's most recent departure.   
  
Severus sat close by, pretending to read, but really keeping an eye on his wife and daughter. Morgan and Dierna had been sitting cross legged, knee to knee, on his bed for well over an hour now in whispered consultation. He had caught bits and pieces of their conversation. Some of it he immediately tried to block out. He suppressed a shudder at the thought of some of the female problems they had been discussing.   
  
He quickly glanced back down at his book when he realized he was being watched.   
  
"Sev, how long were you going to sit there?"   
  
"As long as I feel I need to keep an eye on you."   
  
Morgan felt her heart swell at the way Sev tried to protect her without being too obvious. He was so sweet to her. "Don't you have a class to go teach?"   
  
"Don't you?" He shot back.   
  
Morgan smiled a bit as she crawled off the bed, smoothing her robes, "yes I do." She let Sev catch her for a lingering kiss before she headed out the door. She was ready to go on with life, but knew that the emotional healing process had a long way to go.   
  
"And you," Severus beckoned to his daughter, "are not going to class looking like that. Even if it is Divination..." he added dryly.   
  
Dierna rolled her eyes, "Dad, you worry too much."   
  
"And you show a distinct lack of respect for your school uniform. I would have thought that after five and a half years you would have learned how to tie this," he removed the Gryffindor tie from his daughter's collar.   
  
"It doesn't matter."   
  
"Yes it does," he tilted her chin up as he retied the offending Gryffindor red and gold striped tie.   
  
"I thought it was pretty good before," Dierna pouted, "I actually did it myself."   
  
"You don't tie it yourself normally?"   
  
"No, I usually get Nick or Kamen to do it for me."   
  
Severus had to fight back a smile. As much as he hurt over the loss of his and Morgan's latest unborn child, the children they already had were a ready balm for that hurt. Dierna had been particularly good for his heart the last few days. This feisty little girl, who he had to keep reminding himself wasn't really a little girl anymore but a young woman, hadn't crossed him once since the weekend. Something that he was immensely grateful for.   
  
As he impatiently sent her off to class, her tie now sitting perfectly in her collar, he was reminded of how lucky he and Morgan already were.

* * *

"I'm going to get you a ring."   
  
"You don't have to."   
  
"But I want to."   
  
"Remus, it's not important to me, you needn't bother."   
  
Remus placed his hands on Kalliope's shoulders, "But I want to give you something special, a symbol of our love."   
  
Kalliope sighed, trying to find the right words to explain, "Remus, I have never had a need for jewelry. Cadmus has given me a couple of necklaces, but I only wear them on high feast days. I'm not overly comfortable with jewelry, it's not something that I've ever given much thought or had any desire for."   
  
Something in Kalliope's tone made Remus wary, "you're not having second thoughts are you?"   
  
Kalliope shrugged, "why would you think that?"   
  
"Because I know that your decision to stay here must have been a hard one to make."   
  
"I talked with Rheia last night," Kalliope changed the subject, "I'm to take Nimue to Avalon soon, the priestesses there wish to meet her. Rheia also wants me to bring her to Greece."   
  
"Will you?"   
  
"I don't know. Rheia can be very demanding, and she is set in her ways. I fear that she may already have plans for the girl."   
  
"But she had plans for you, and you are casting those aside. What does she think of that?"

"We did not discuss it. I have told no one else of my decision to stay here," there was a hint of uncertainty in her voice.   
  
"I love you Kalliope, but if you have any doubts about staying here with me we have to discuss them. If you're not willing to that it might be best for you to return to your temple now."

* * *

Dierna barely made it to Divination on time, not that she really cared. With every class she regretted taking this class even more, and her dislike of Trelawny multiplied.   
  
"Adelaide Snape! If I have to ask you again you'll be spending your evening in detention! Now, tell me about the art of scapulamancy and its use among Eastern seers." Professor Trelawny looked as annoyed as her students had ever seen her.   
  
Something in Dierna snapped, and all of her pent up frustration came pouring out, "Bloody hell! Why should I care about some bogus mockery of prediction which is used by a bunch of crack-pot seers?! This is the most worthless class ever, and a complete waste of time!!! Especially with a teacher as worthless as you, who couldn't predict her way out of a paper bag!"   
  
Trelawny trembled with rage, her sparkling mass of jewelry shook, as she sputtered for a moment before finding her voice, "Out! Get out of my classroom now! The Headmistress will here about this! Now out of my class!!!"   
  
Dierna held her head high as she slowly gathered her belongings, and she swept out of the class without a backward glance. But as soon as she descended the ladder from the North Tower her shoulders slumped. "Dad is going to kill me," she muttered as she walked down the hallway dejectedly.   
  
She didn't even bother going to her classes that afternoon. She spent most of the day sulking in an empty classroom until a house elf showed up to clean. She walked for awhile, before stopping in an empty hallway. Heaving a huge sigh she sank to the floor at the base of a statue of Elena the Resourceful.   
  
She hugged her legs to her chest and propped her chin on her knees. She stared, glassy eyed, at the floor, wishing that the stones would just open up and swallow her. That way she wouldn't have to face Trelawny again, or the headmistress, or her head of house who she knew would be dragged into this, or her parents...  
  
She quickly fought back tears on that last thought as she heard footsteps approaching and an all too familiar pair of black clad legs stopped in front of her. She held her breath, bracing herself for the worst, hoping that she wouldn't cry.

"I heard you had a rather interesting Divination class today."   
  
Dierna shrugged and sniffed, furiously blinking back her tears.   
  
"The headmistress wants to see you."   
  
"Am I going to be suspended?" Dierna's voice sounded uncharacteristically high-pitched, and nervous.   
  
"I don't know."   
  
Dierna finally looked up "but I thought..."  
  
Severus crouched down in front of his daughter, "I did not come looking for you to drag you to the headmistress's office, and I don't know how much trouble you're in yet, although I'd wager it's going to be a lot. I came looking for you because you neglected to show up at your other classes and I was getting worried about you."   
  
"But you're going to make me go to the headmistress' office aren't you?"   
  
"No, but I am going to suggest that you go and get this over with."

Dierna nodded and pulled herself up off the ground, trying to hide how her legs were shaking. Tears threatened once again when her father took her school bag from her and walked her to the entrance to the McGonagall's office and gave the password. But she couldn't make her legs move to take her up the curving staircase. She turned pleading eyes to her father, "do I have to...?"  
  
"Would you like me to go with you?" he asked calmly. He found he lacked the energy to be angry at his daughter. One look told him how tense and scared she was, and he didn't want to abandon her. Although he didn't get an answer he knew that she wanted him to go with her, "Come on then," he gave her a gentle push toward the stairs and followed her up.

* * *

"Why are you upset?" Sophia looked quizzically at her guardian as Kalliope paced the confines of their sitting room.   
  
"I am not upset."   
  
"Yes you are."   
  
"Do not contradict your elders."   
  
Sophia rolled her eyes, "fine don't tell me. But I bet it has something to do with Remus..."  
  
"You need to learn when to be silent."  
  
Sophia grinned as she lifted a small green snake out of a pottery jar and cradled the reptile close to her, "I think you should marry him."   
  
Kalliope stopped her pacing and closed her eyes, "I have thought about it."   
  
"You don't want to leave Greece do you?"   
  
"I thought I told you to be silent."   
  
"You told me that I needed to learn when to be silent, there's a difference. And I still think you should marry him. I wouldn't mind living here, even if it is bloody cold."   
  
Kalliope suppressed a smile, apparently her ward was picking up the more colorful aspects of the English language, "we shall see."

* * *

Dierna wasn't surprised to see that Professor Lupin and Professor Trelawny, with Professor McGonagall of course, were waiting in the office. She wondered if they could hear the thumping of her heart, she swore it would come out of her chest.   
  
"I'll let you deal with her Headmistress," Trelawny said with a sniff, "but I hope I have made it clear that I do not want her back in my class," the Divination teacher swept from the room.   
  
"Please sit down Miss Snape," McGonagall looked over her spectacles at the nervous girl as she directed her into a straight backed chair.   
  
Dierna perched on the edge of the chair, only too aware of the way she was being watched.   
  
"You know why you're here young lady, but do you have anything that you would like to say on the matter?"   
  
Dierna felt as though her face was on fire, "no ma'am, I'm sure Trelawny already told you everything."   
  
"_Professor_ Trelawny," Minerva patiently corrected. "I feel that it's only fair to tell you that Professor Trelawny has asked that you be removed permanently from her class. I have granted that request. So now we are left with another problem, what are you going do with yourself during that time?"   
  
"I don't know ma'am."   
  
"Might I make a suggestion?" Severus stood behind his daughter and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I believe that we are all in agreement after the appalling way my daughter behaved this morning that she is in need of something more structured and more challenging than Divination proved to be. And that she needs closer supervision, with someone who will not tolerate the least bit of disrespect from her. I think Adelaide would benefit from an independent study. I would be willing to supervise her in an advanced course of potions."   
  
Minerva nodded, "I think that is an excellent suggestion Severus, and one that should prove efficient at keeping her out of more trouble I should hope. Remus, you're her head of house, what do you think?"   
  
Remus seemed to consider the idea for a moment, "I think it's a start. But if there are any more problems we will have to consider something else."   
  
"There will be no more problems," Severus said in a voice that made his daughter cringe. Even though he was supporting her now, she was still in more trouble than she cared to think about.   
  
Minerva nodded, "I should certainly hope so. Now then, our next order of business. Professor Trelawny has requested that you be, at the very least, suspended from school for you actions today Miss Snape. However, I have left that decision up to Professor Lupin."   
  
Dierna looked up for the first time since she had entered the office and turned pleading eyes on Professor Lupin, silently begging him not to suspend her.

* * *

"Things are going to be a bit different from now on," Ron Weasley addressed the assembled group, which included Viviane and Stefan, along with several aurors. "First off, I think we all need to understand that Miss Snape and MacNeill should never have been part of this mission, that they were slotted for it should have been our first clue that spies had infiltrated the Ministry. However, things have gone on too long for either of them to be removed.   
"We will continue on as before for the most part. Stefan, you will continue to spend as much time with Malfoy and Macnair as possible, you will then report directly back to Viviane, who will organize your reports for me. There will be at least three aurors stationed close by whenever you are with the dark forces to help ensure your safety. Any questions?"   
  
Viviane softly spoke up, "do we know if Malfoy suspects anything yet?"   
  
Ron shook his head, "if he does he isn't letting us know. We just have to wait and see, and be as careful as possible."   
  
The gathered group sat in contemplative silence for a minute. They all knew that there was a good chance they wouldn't all come away from this mission.   
  
"One more thing," Ron said as he prepared to leave, "I'm removing the order that disallowed all outside communication. Considering the prominent danger some of you are in, I think it's only fair that you maintain contact with your loved ones."

* * *

"I have decided not to suspend you Dierna, but I want you to realize the seriousness of what you did today. You will serve a week's worth of detentions with me and you will write a respectful apology to Professor Trelawny. In addition, you will be banned from all Hogsmeade trips for the rest of the year. Do you have any questions?"   
  
"No sir," Dierna mumbled. She was glad that she hadn't been suspended, but she had been hoping to get off with less. She knew her dad was still going to have something to say about the way she had behaved, and it wasn't going to be good.   
  
"You may go now."   
  
Dierna wasn't sure how it happened, she could have sworn that her shaking legs wouldn't have been able to carry her, but she found herself back out in the hallway with her father. "Am I really going to do an independent study with you?"   
  
Severus schooled his features into a stern expression, "as long as you stay out of trouble you will."   
  
Dierna felt like she was going to cry, something she hated. When had she gotten this emotional? She hid the tears in her eyes by looking down at the floor, waiting for the tirade that was sure to follow. When there was only silence she chanced a glance up at her father, "are you mad at me?" she asked tentatively.   
  
"Yes, but more serious than that is the fact that I'm disappointed in you. When are you going to learn to control your temper?"   
  
"But I..."

"No excuses, what you did was wrong and you know it. No matter how much you dislike Trelawny, you should not have spoken to her that way. You're lucky that you got off as easy as you did, had you been in my house you would have been suspended!"   
  
"I'm sorry."   
  
"Are you sorry for your actions or just sorry that you got in trouble?"   
  
Dierna opened her mouth to respond, but promptly closed it again, heat staining her cheeks.   
  
"I am waiting for your answer," gone was the understanding and patience, Severus' tone was dangerously low.   
  
Dierna steeled herself, "I'm not sorry for what I said to Trelawny, I hate her."


	48. Chapter 48

Serena wrapped her arms around her legs and glared at the dancing flames. Even the comforting warmth of the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room did nothing to lift her spirits. She brushed away a few tears, but was convinced that she'd never feel better.  
  
"What's wrong?" Kamen knelt down beside her, showing uncharacteristic brotherly concern.   
  
"Nothing."

"I think we both know that's not true, otherwise you wouldn't be sitting on the floor crying. What's wrong?"   
  
Serena sniffed as more tears spilled over, "I broke up with Mark today."   
  
Kamen's brows shot up in surprise, "Wow... I thought you two were really serious."   
  
"That was the problem, it was all physical, I can't remember the last time we talked to each other."   
  
Kamen shrugged, "I've never understood the whole talking thing. As long as you can get some good snogging in I've never paid much attention to anything else."   
  
Serena glared at him, "that's why you've broken so many hearts."   
  
"Hey, I've never been one to go in for the emotional attachment. I try to make it very clear that I'm just looking for action."   
  
Serena snorted in disgust, "Grow up Kamen. You're no help whatsoever."

"Sorry, I was trying to be sympathetic."   
  
"Well it didn't work."

* * *

Dierna dragged herself to detention that night. She had been on the receiving end of her father's anger over her behavior for the last couple of hours; detention was almost starting to look like a refuge.   
  
"You're early," Remus said as he let Dierna into his office.   
  
"I know, but it was either come to detention early or continue to endure the longest lecture ever. You seemed like the better choice."   
  
"We'll have to see if you still feel that way by the time you leave tonight."   
  
Dierna groaned, "What if I promise to be a model student for the rest of the year, will you go easy on me?"   
  
Remus smiled, "not a chance. Although I thought I would use this time to give you a chance to practice. There's a boggart in the cabinet over there, take care of it."   
  
Dierna mumbled something about the unfairness of detentions as she opened the cabinet, letting the boggart out. Remus stood by, watching in case he was needed.   
  
The boggart stepped out, in the form of Madame Pomphrey. Remus was shocked as he watched. Boggart Madame Pomphrey looked sad, "I'm so sorry dear. But the Ministry has confirmed that Stefan was one of the fatalities. And your test was positive, you are pregnant."   
  
Dierna let her wand clatter to the floor as the words 'alone and pregnant' echoed in her mind. "No..." She didn't appear to notice when Lupin stepped in front of her and dispatched the boggart. She was shaking, why couldn't she get Stefan's words out of her head? She closed her eyes, hoping it would just disappear.   
  
Remus laid his hand on her shoulder, and cleared his throat a couple of times before he spoke. "Do you want to talk about this?"   
  
"No," it came out as a ragged whisper.

* * *

Severus was only too happy to set aside his book when Morgan crawled into his lap. She had been extremely clingy since the miscarriage, desperate for contact. He was glad to provide it, it seemed like it was the only thing he could do for her.   
  
"I've been thinking."   
  
"Should I be scared?"  
  
Morgan smiled and laid her head on his shoulder, "no. But I have been talking with Kalliope and Elizabeth and we've made plans."   
  
"Am I involved in any of the plans?"   
  
"Maybe..."  
  
"Hmmm... I think I should be worried."   
  
"Stop it Sev! Let me finish. First, I want you to know that Kalliope talked with me today about taking Nimue to Avalon with her for a week during Christmas break and I gave my consent." She felt her husband tense. "Sev, it's alright, really..."  
  
"Morgan, I don't want her to go."   
  
Morgan laid a hand across her husband's mouth to stop his protests, "it'll be fine. I think she needs this. Anything that will help her control the visions will be for the best." She smiled when Severus relented, "now, about the other stuff. Sirius and Elizabeth's wedding is going to be at the beginning of Christmas break, and they're going on a week long honeymoon. Nimue will be in Avalon during that week. I thought it would be the perfect time for us to go to Paris."   
  
"And who is going to look after the children? Because that leaves three of ours, Elizabeth's two and Sophia without supervision, does it not?"   
  
Morgan smiled enchantingly, "I already thought of that. They'll all stay at our house."   
  
"Alone?"   
  
"Of course not! Remus agreed to be chaperone for a week. I think he wants to prove to a certain priestess that he can handle some parenting responsibilities."   
  
"I don't like it."   
  
"But Sev, we'll be able to spend a whole week in Paris that way. We won't have to worry about the kids; you know Remus will keep a close eye on them. And it will be just the two of us, alone, in Paris."   
  
Severus sighed, "You know I can't deny you anything."   
  
Morgan squirmed a bit, that had been the same thing he said when she told him she wanted another child. And while they were on the subject of denying... he had spent the last couple of nights on the couch, she hadn't meant to be distant. But while she craved physical contact during the day, she had been more than a bit standoffish in the bedroom.   
  
"Are you alright?"   
  
Morgan looked up in surprise, blushing deeply as she realized she had been lost in thought for awhile. "I suppose..."  
  
"Can I get anything for you?"   
  
She could hear the desire to please in his voice. He cared so much for her, and she had been so distant... she wanted desperately to make it up to him. "I think I'm going to go to bed."   
  
"Sleep well," Severus stood up, removing Morgan from his lap.   
  
Morgan took a couple of steps towards their bedroom before turning around. "Aren't you coming?"   
  
The couple shared a long look, and without any words being said everything was forgiven. All the blame that Morgan had been carrying over the miscarriage seemed to melt away as she looked into the black eyes that she loved so much. All the walls that they had built between them the last few days came back down. There was still a dull ache of sadness left. But Morgan knew she could find comfort in his strong arms.

* * *

Remus was only too happy to let Dierna leave after three hours of detention. He sat at his desk for a long time, trying to come to terms with what he had to do. According to Hogwarts' rules he was obligated to inform the parents of his students about major concerns, including personal harm, major school rule violations and pregnancies.   
  
But he knew Severus too well to have any doubts about how this bit of information would be received. And he didn't even know for certain that Dierna was pregnant.   
  
He drummed his fingers on the top of his desk in contemplation. He decided to give Dierna a few days to see if she brought it up. If she didn't he had to follow school policy and tell her parents about the incident with the boggart.

* * *

"Hon are you sure you're ok? You've been awfully quiet..." Dierna looked at her twin with concern.   
  
"I'm fine, really. Me and Mark decided together that we should break up, it just takes some getting used to, I'm going to need more than just a couple of days to be completely over it."   
  
"Alright.... But let me know if you want to talk, 'k?"   
  
"Of course. But I want you to know that it's going to be really lonely in Divination without you today."   
  
Dierna nervously chewed on her knuckle, "yeah, this is the first time we won't be in class together." Today was Friday, she had her first independent study with their father, and she wasn't quite sure what to suspect. She had had only two classes on Friday, Divination and Potions. Now she would be spending the whole day in the dungeons, she wasn't sure if she should be excited or terrified.   
  
"It'll be fine," Serena reached out and hugged her twin, "Dad never stays mad long, I'm sure he'll have nearly forgotten the whole Trelawny thing by now."

"I hope so... try to have fun with in Divination."

"Thanks, see ya' later."   
  
Dierna slowly made her way down to the dungeons, dragging her feet the whole way. It had not been a good year for her so far, and she really didn't want it to get any worse. She vowed to herself that she would stay out of trouble for the rest of the year, no matter how much self control it took.   
  
"You are late."   
  
Dierna, remembering her resolve, bit back the reply she would have loved to make, and smiled sweetly instead, "sorry, it won't happen again sir."   
  
Severus narrowed his eyes; he knew that her innocent expression was an act. "I'm going to make a couple of things very clear before we begin," he said as he ushered her into the room. "First, I will not tolerate any disrespect from you. You are here as a consequence of your quick temper and even quicker mouth. If you put one toe out of line, this will cease to be an independent study and will become a detention period."   
  
Dierna chewed her bottom lip, "yes sir, I promise I won't cause any more trouble."   
  
"Good. And second, you will work hard for me. I am going to expect a lot from you, but it won't be anything that you can't handle. I want to see you reach your full potential Dierna, you have a lot of talent."   
  
"I'll try not to let you down."   
  
"I'm not worried about that;" Severus crossed his arms, "at least as far as your skill at Potions is concerned. You're behavior on the other hand... that I am worried about."   
  
Dierna had enough sense to look a bit ashamed of herself, "I really will try harder."   
  
"I know you will, because if you don't I will make your life miserable."

* * *

"I can't believe you're going to Avalon!" Ophelia and Nimue were talking excitedly over lunch, "you're sooo lucky."   
  
"I'm really excited! But I wish you could come with me..."  
  
Ophelia brushed it off, "I'm content to just be happy for you. Do you think they'll want to make you a priestess?"   
  
"Why would they do that?" Nimue tipped her head to the side.   
  
Ophelia rolled her eyes, "because the priestesses there are some of the most famous seers ever. You have visions; you could probably be one of them."   
  
"I hadn't thought of that before..." Nimue looked a little worried.   
  
"Would you rather be a priestess in Avalon or in Greece? I'm sorry," Ophelia noticed Nimue's anxious look, "I didn't mean to pressure you."   
  
"It's alright, I just hadn't thought about it before. Do you think that they will try to get me to leave Hogwarts?"   
  
"Would you want to leave if you were given the choice? You'd learn soooo much from them, it could be a once in a lifetime opportunity."   
  
Nimue shrugged, "it just seems so incredible, like a dream, a bad one..."  
  
"What's so bad about it? You have visions, you can see the future! I think it sounds exciting."   
  
"It's been horrible," tears formed in her eyes, "I've seen so many things... I wish I could forget them. I'm scared, what if they ask more of me than I can handle? What if it is all too much? Ophelia, I'm terrified, I want out of this whole thing."

* * *

Morgan tried desperately to pay attention to what Minerva was saying at their staff meeting that night. But sitting between her husband and Remus she found that she became distracted rather easily. She was attempting to provoke Severus, by running her hand up his leg under the table when Remus slipped a piece of paper in front of her.   
  
She gave him a sideways glance as she unfolded the slip of paper which was covered in his bold writing:   
  
_ Theognis once wrote that:  
"A young woman isn't right for an old man,  
she won't respond to the rudder like a boat,  
anchors won't hold her, she'll often break  
the ropes, find another harbor in the night"  
was he right? Or have you resigned yourself to the greasy git that you married, who, I should remind you, is nearly old enough to be your father..._

Morgan covered her smile with her hand, and quickly scribbled back an answer which she passed back to Remus:   
  
_ My dear sir, I take great offense to your insult of my husband, who is not greasy, although occasionally a git. As to our difference in age, is not love blind? Or perhaps I should retaliate with a similar weapon. Since you used the ancients to prove your point, I shall use them to prove mine. The words of Catullus best describe my affection for my husband:  
"That man seems to me to be a god,  
that man, if it can be, leaves gods behind."_  
  
Remus failed to conceal his amusement over Morgan's wordy response and had to turn his laughter into a cough.   
  
"Behave yourself," Severus whispered in his wife's ear.   
  
Morgan felt her cheeks flame as she turned her attention back to what Minerva was saying about school protection over the winter holidays, she could feel her husband's eyes on her, even though she didn't look up at him. By the time the meeting ended the heat in her face subsided, but she made a quick retreat to where Remus, Charlie, Zach, and Alberto were involved in a conversation before her husband could catch her.   
  
"Would you gentlemen care for some company with one of the fairer sex?" she asked innocently.   
  
"And would the 'fairer sex' be hiding from her husband?" Remus asked.   
  
Morgan smiled sweetly, "not hiding, just avoiding the scolding I'm going to get for not paying attention." In a desperate bid to turn attention elsewhere she turned to Charlie, "how was the twins' birthday?"   
  
Charlie beamed in fatherly pride, "it was great. I can't believe they're already four. And I think it was the first party at our house where Alberto hasn't gotten himself thrown out."   
  
Morgan grinned impishly, "no nifflers this year 'Berto?"

Alberto gave his trademark, gold toothed smile, "No, Zach and I opted for a pair of stuffed dragon toys, they went over much better with Meg than anything I would have picked out on my own."   
  
Morgan laughed at Alberto's contrite expression, and joined in teasing him about his enjoyment for baiting Mrs. Charlie Weasley. Even when Severus came to claim her she was still smiling over the 'boys' witty comments. "Are you going to scold me for acting like a disobedient school girl during that meeting?" She couldn't help asking.   
  
Severus almost smiled, "no, I'm just glad that even after all that has happened you can still act like the little imp I married."  
  
Morgan glanced down at the floor, "and do you ever regret marrying a headstrong Gryffindor who can be more trouble than she's worth?"   
  
"I wouldn't say that, any lesser woman wouldn't be worth the trouble you cause, but you... you're an exception."   
  
Morgan chewed her lower lip, "Then you don't think I'm too much of an imp?"   
  
"I didn't say that either. You are most certainly an imp, one that I have been tempted, on many occasions, to upend over my knee."   
  
Morgan giggled as she took the arm Severus offered her. "If I promise to be good will you take me to the opera while we're in Paris?"   
  
"I'll think about it. But I did have some other things in mind, since we'll be alone, without any chance for interruption in I don't know how long."   
  
"I think I might be up for that... but only if you take me to the opera."


	49. Chapter 49

Harry paced the confines of a deserted hallway bitterly, and battled with himself over what he should do. Minerva had made it clear at yesterday's staff meeting that they needed as much staff as possible to stay at Hogwarts over Christmas break. One part of him wanted to run home to his wife and try and repair the damage that had been done. But another part of him wanted to avoid the whole situation. He felt like a traitor to Gryffindor bravery, but he was afraid that his marriage was over.  
  
"Sitting there feeling sorry for yourself Potter?" Severus sneered. He had been on his way to see his wife, but decided to stop as he had a good idea what Harry was thinking about.   
  
Harry balled his hands into fists, no matter how many years had passed Severus still treated him like a student, and although they were on friendlier terms there was still no love lost between them. "It's none of your business."   
  
"You're right, it's not. But, Sirius has kept me informed as to the status of your marriage, and if I might say so, you don't deserve Ginny. In my opinion she has always been too good for you."   
  
Harry felt a surge of anger, but didn't fight back.   
  
"Well, I guess if you're not even going to defend yourself that you may as well consider your marriage over and done with."   
  
"We could still work it out, for the children if nothing else. They shouldn't have to watch us split up."   
  
"That is possibly the worst reason imaginable as to why you should stay together."   
  
"And what would you know about it?!" Harry spat angrily.   
  
"My wife left me once, and yet we are still together. I think I know a lot more about it than you do. At least I managed to save my marriage," Severus smirked.

Harry's mouth fell open, "Morgan tried to leave you? But you're..."  
  
"Happily married with no regrets? Yes, but it took us awhile to realize that."   
  
Harry bit back his pride and let his curiosity get the better of him, "what happened?"

* * *

"I've thought about it."

Remus looked at Kalliope warily, she hadn't spoken to him since he told her to decide whether or not she was really willing to leave Greece, but her expression gave nothing away. "What have you decided?"   
  
Kalliope paced the confines of Remus' bedroom for several long moments, her heavy dark hair hanging loose about her shoulders. Even in turmoil she still maintained the gracefulness of a fully trained priestess. "Remus, you have to understand that this wasn't an easy decision for me to make. And I had to be sure that I wouldn't regret my decision. Unfortunately, I can't please everyone. And I have struggled long and hard trying to figure out how best I can serve my goddess."   
  
Remus closed his eyes wearily. "Just tell me what you have decided Kalliope."

* * *

"Our first year of marriage was wonderful, after a bit of a rough start. There were no lasting quarrels, no ugly disputes. Everything seemed to be perfect. When Viviane was born," Severus closed his eyes for a moment, thinking, "That was right after the Tri Wizard tournament, I didn't think anything would ever tear Morgan and me apart. But then she became pregnant with our second child only a few months later."   
  
Harry frowned, "But Kamen is younger than Viviane by more than two years..."  
  
"You asked to hear this, but if you aren't going to let me finish..."  
  
"Sorry, please continue," Harry cringed at Severus' sharp tone.   
  
Severus took a moment before he began again, "you know about the level of Order activity that went on that year. I had little time for Morgan as I was constantly on missions or teaching, as a result we grew a bit distant. It was right after we all thought that Black got himself killed," Severus paused for a moment, letting that barb sink in, "Morgan and I had a rather intense argument, for her safety I wanted her to leave the country for awhile, I knew that no one close to me would be safe. But that damn Gryffindor stubbornness got in the way. She insisted on staying for awhile longer, I eventually wore her down and she agreed to go, but it was too late.   
"We had sent Viviane ahead of her, and Morgan was getting ready to leave when the death eaters decided to attack. I told Morgan to leave, but she insisted on staying by my side. In the middle of the battle she was hit by a curse, it caused her to go into labor, and our daughter Mercy died before she was ever given a chance to live."   
  
"I didn't know..."  
  
"Not many people do, and I would like to keep it that way."   
  
"Of course."   
  
Severus' gaze grew a bit distant as he continued, "When it was all over I told Morgan that if she had only gone when I told her to, none of it would have happened. Our daughter would have lived if it hadn't been for her stubbornness. Sweet Circe how I regretted those words later... But I immediately left again on more Order business, leaving my nineteen year old wife to try and cope with the loss of our child by herself. She left me. She packed her belongings and left.   
"I had to find that out from Molly Weasley. Morgan had left Viviane in her care when she took off. It didn't take me long to find her. When I did, she tried to run from me, said that she loved me, but if I didn't love her she wouldn't stay, she couldn't stand the heartache. It was then that I realized I could not live without her. It took a lot of work but I managed to convince her to come back with me, and the healing process took a long time. It was months before we were able to put it behind us."   
  
"And how is that supposed to help me?"   
  
"Potter, I finally realized that no matter what happened, there was only one Morgan, and I could not live without her by my side. Your desire to maintain your marriage for the sole sake of your children, however noble, is not going to work. Even if you do divorce your wife your children will still love you both, and as hurtful as it may sound you could always have more children." P  
  
Harry clenched his fists, "but my children mean the world to me, I don't want to see them get hurt."   
  
"Life is full of hurt Potter! It's time you realized that and grow up. You're children will forgive you and continue to love you. Your life will go on. But there is only one Ginny; can you really live without her?"

* * *

"Remus, I love you. But above that I must serve my goddess, she is my life, and more a part of me than you can ever understand."   
  
_Once a priestess always a priestess_, Remus thought as his hopes of having a family sank.   
  
"That is why I have to stand by the promise I made to be your wife. Every woman is expected to go through the life stages of maiden, mother, and crone. I have been a maiden and unwillingly a mother. But I need to embrace that role and live my life the way the goddess has ordained. I love you with all my heart Remus and I want you to be beside me."   
  
Remus closed his eyes for a moment, "you scared me to death, I was afraid you were going to go back to Greece."   
  
Kalliope smiled, "I don't think I could ever leave without you, you are my life."   
  
"Well, I guess it's a good thing I got this," Remus crossed the room and caught Kalliope in his arms, kissing her roughly. When he let her go he pulled an etched golden band from his pocket and slipped it on Kalliope's finger. "I know you said you didn't want a ring, but I thought you might like this one."   
  
Kalliope pulled the ring off to examine the inscription, and smiled at the Greek writing carved on the surface, _sing, muses, of the mother goddess_, she slipped the ring back on her finger and kissed Remus for all she was worth. "I have one request wizard before I become your wife."   
  
"Anything," Remus breathed against her creamy skin.   
  
"Come to Greece with me for a week during the Winter break, I need a chance to say my formal goodbyes to those at the temple."

* * *

Dierna squealed in delight Friday morning when a strange owl brought her a letter from Stefan. Only one more day of classes before break and a letter from her boyfriend, the day was looking good so far.   
  
"You look awfully happy this morning," Nick said as he dropped into the seat next to Dierna for breakfast.   
  
"I am," she was practically glowing, "I got a letter from Stefan."   
  
"Well then I'm glad that school is going to be out for a couple of weeks, that way I won't have to hear about this letter every waking moment until you get a new one."

"Be nice," Dierna playfully cuffed him on the arm.   
  
"And how is the nice twin this morning?" Nick put his arm around Serena as she slipped into the seat next to him. "Cheer up sweetie, in a few days you'll feel a lot better about this whole Mark thing."   
  
"Thanks Nick," Serena gave him a brilliant smile, as though trying to prove that she really would be alright.   
  
"By the way, where were you girls last night?"   
  
Dierna quickly looked around to make sure that no one was listening to their conversation, "we went to Diagon Alley for awhile."   
  
Nick shook his head, "you girls have a penchant for getting in trouble, did you know that?"   
  
"Come on Nick! Don't get on our case about it," Dierna rolled her eyes, "you're probably just upset 'cause we didn't ask you to go with us."   
  
Nick grinned, "Yeah, I don't like being left out of your exploits. So, what did you do in Diagon Alley?"   
  
"We got Kamen's birthday present."   
  
"You couldn't wait till tomorrow when we'll be out of school?"   
  
"Of course not," Serena smiled sweetly, "half the fun is the chance that we might get caught."   
  
"Like I said, penchants for trouble."   
  
"Nick, you wanna go Christmas shopping with us next week?" Dierna leaned against his shoulder.   
  
"Sure doll, when did you want to go?"   
  
"Well... we told you how Mum somehow got Remus to play babysitter for us next week, so... as soon as we can ditch him we'll be able to have some fun."

* * *

Dierna gave Serena and Nick a remorseful look as they took their seats in Potions that afternoon. She had talked back one too many times in class and had gotten herself assigned to a seat, by herself, in the front row, away from her two closest friends.   
  
But she quickly forgot about that as she became immersed in the class. It wasn't a particularly hard potion today, but she had worked with a couple of the ingredients that morning in her private study and was excited to put what she had learned to use. It enabled her to cut out a couple of steps, and finish her potion nearly fifteen minutes ahead of everyone else.   
  
"Why are you done so soon?" Severus asked Dierna as he surveyed her work.   
  
Dierna tucked a curl behind her ear, "I added the boneset and allium cepa at the same time removing one step, and then I was able to add the trawkish feathers after a shorter simmering time."   
  
Severus studied her with an unreadable expression for awhile, "stay after class for a few minutes." And he walked away, leaving his daughter staring after him in confusion.   
  
When class finally let out Dierna waited expectantly for her father to tell her why he kept her after class, she couldn't imagine that she'd done anything to get in trouble.   
  
Severus sat at the desk next to his daughter and thought about how to word what had to come next, "Dierna, you cannot change the instructions that I give you in class, you must follow them as I give them to you."   
  
Dierna looked confused, "but allium cepa and boneset have similar properties and don't produce any dangerous side effects when mixed with each other so I thought..."  
  
"Unless the allium cepa was harvested during a full moon."   
  
"What?" Dierna was now even more confused.   
  
"Dierna, if you mix allium cepa that was harvested at the full moon with boneset directly together they will create a small explosion and release poisonous vapors. Luckily I plan ahead for students who tend to botch things up and made sure that wouldn't be a problem."  
  
"I didn't know, I'm sorry."   
  
"It is alright this time, I just want you to remember that in the future. The instructions I give you are there for a reason."

"Yes sir. Can I go now?"   
  
Severus started to dismiss her then stopped, "no," he sighed, "I have something else to discuss with you. It is about your grandfather."   
  
Dierna looked a bit apprehensive at the way her father looked.   
  
"As you know, my father completely disowned me years ago. But, he also wrote off all of my children, except for you. I mentioned to him once that I thought you would have done well in Slytherin, and for some reason he remembered that and decided you were his best hope to be an heir worthy of him. He left a good portion of his estate to you Dierna."   
  
Dierna's mouth fell open. "I don't...but why would he..." She blinked a few times before regaining her line of thought, "Dad, if you don't want me to take his money I won't."   
  
"I'm going to leave the decision up to you Dierna. It's your choice." 

* * *

"Excellent. School's out for Christmas break, my birthday is in two days, Mum and Dad are going to Paris for five days... I think we need to throw a party."   
  
"I'm with you," William grinned at Kamen, "but I think we need to replenish our stash first."   
  
"Already done. I figured that with the wedding next week you're going to need one hell of a party to keep you going."   
  
"Very true," William said in agreement. "Should we worry about Lupin though?"   
  
"Not a problem, there's no one who can keep us from partying." 

* * *

"Severus, can I have a word with you?"   
  
Severus looked at Remus, "I was rather hoping to be home by now, but if you make it quick then yes."   
  
Remus hesitated, and then launched into the whole story about Dierna and her boggart, "you know school policy Severus, I was hoping that she would have talked to you about it by now, but I had to tell you."   
  
Severus balled his hands into fists and sought desperately to control his temper. But nothing was working.   
  
Remus looked a bit apprehensive as he continued, "I don't even know if she's pregnant or not Severus, so maybe there's nothing to be upset about."   
  
"We'll see about that," Severus spoke dangerously.   
  
"And Severus, just a suggestion, maybe you should wait till you're not angry to discuss it with her," Remus tried not to cringe at the murderous glare he received, "or maybe not...."

* * *

"We're going running, we'll be back later!" Serena called as she and Dierna headed towards the door.   
  
"Wait one minute you two!" Morgan yelled after her daughters as she came into the kitchen. She wasn't sure if she was happy or overwhelmed to be home for the Christmas holidays. "Have you unpacked yet?"  
  
"No," was the dismal answer.   
  
"Unpack first, and then you can go running."   
  
"But Mum..."  
  
"Don't argue with me, and make sure you dress warm, it looks like its going to snow."   
  
Dierna and Serena grudgingly returned to their shared room to unpack, grumbling the whole way about the uselessness of unpacking when they were just going to pack it all up again anyways.   
  
"Think she would notice if we just shoved our trunks under our beds instead of unpacking them?" Dierna tried to be hopeful.   
  
"No, we tried that last year, remember?"   
  
"Oh, yeah... damn... we need a back up plan."   
  
"Wanna stash our stuff in Kamen's room? That way it'll look like we unpacked."   
  
Dierna grinned, "Excellent plan twin darling."   
  
"That's because I'm the brilliant twin!"   
  
They quickly moved their trucks down the hall into Kamen's room, giggling a bit at the large collection of liquor Kamen had managed to procure. They would have to remind him to hide it better if he didn't want to get caught with it.   
  
Their trunks safely hidden in their brother's room the twins rushed to change and were out the door moments later following their favorite running path.   
  
"Break is going to be wicked this year!" Serena exclaimed as they jogged alongside the woods, "Kamen's birthday, a couple of weddings, Mum and Dad gone for five days... I can't wait."   
  
Dierna didn't answer, but she wasn't sure if she was as excited as her twin. 

* * *

Ginny couldn't help but think that things were too quiet when she returned home. She had gone shopping with Meg, and had expected to come home to Harry and her three children. But it didn't seem like anyone was around.   
  
She sighed as she laid down her packages in the front hallway. She honestly didn't know what she was going to do about her and Harry's situation. She loved him, but she didn't know if that was enough, there needed to be commitment, reliance... she wanted more. Resigning herself to a quiet afternoon by herself she was nearly startled out of her wits when the door to the living room was suddenly thrown open.   
  
"Sorry I startled you," Harry said sheepishly.   
  
"It's alright," Ginny said recovering herself, "Where are the children?"   
  
"With your parents."   
  
"Why?" Ginny felt a little nervous.   
  
"Because we need some time alone. We're going to work this out Ginny."   
  
"Are you sure we can Harry?"   
  
Harry didn't answer for a moment, but studied his red haired wife intently, "when was the last time I told you how much I love you?"   
  
"I can't remember," Ginny shrugged.   
  
"I guess I'll have to fix that."


	50. Chapter 50

"Are we going anywhere for these wizards' holidays?" Sophia questioned Kalliope.  
  
"Yes, you are going to stay with Remus and the Snape and Darcy children for a week while I take Nimue to Avalon."   
  
Sophia rolled her eyes, as though it was obvious that Kalliope had missed her point, "but are we going anywhere, you, me, Remus..."  
  
Kalliope didn't let her ward see her smile and shook her head at the girl's persistence. "Yes, we are returning to the temple for the second half of the break, and Remus will go with us."   
  
Sophia worried her lower lip as she thought about that, "Are we going to stay at the temple?"   
  
"No, we will return here."   
  
"Forever?"

"You know I can't answer that child."   
  
"But you're the oracle! You should know if we're going to stay!"   
  
Kalliope sighed softly and answered the girl patiently, "Sophia, I know what the goddess gives me to know. We will stay here as long as She wills it."   
  
"Well I hope its forever..." Sophia mumbled under her breath.  
  
"What happened to your dream of being a priestess little one?"   
  
Sophia squirmed in her seat, "well... I still want to be a priestess, but I'm starting to like the wizarding world. I think some of the things they do here make more sense."   
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Well, not their patriarchal system, I'll _NEVER_ understand that. The goddess clearly meant for women to be the leaders of society. But, I do like their school, and I do like that men and women mix more freely, and I like their shops, those are more exciting than the traders that come through at home."

Kalliope smiled, "goddess willing child, you'll get your fill of all of those things you adore about the wizarding world," she murmured under her breath.

* * *

"You look great Mum."   
  
Elizabeth turned from where she was examining herself in the tall mirror in her bedroom; she was trying on her wedding dress. Two days to go and she couldn't wait for it all to be done with, "do you approve?" she asked her soon as he came further into the room.   
  
"Of the dress, yes, you look wonderful in blue. Of the marriage no."   
  
Elizabeth sighed, "Oh William... I wish you felt differently about this. It would mean the world to me if you could accept Sirius. I know he will never replace your father, I wouldn't want him to. But I wish you would at least get along with him."   
  
William played with a couple of small bottles on his mother's dresser before replying, "Dad has only been dead for two and a half years, how can you put that behind you and marry Sirius?"   
  
"Because I love him."   
  
"How can you be so disloyal to Dad's memory?!" William slammed his fist down on the top of the dresser, "I thought he meant more to you than that."   
  
"I will always love your father," Elizabeth said in a choked voice, "When Edward died I thought I would spend the rest of my life alone, but then I met Sirius. Your father is still in my heart William, but I made room for Sirius. Edward is not here anymore William, and I know it sounds harsh, but he doesn't need me anymore, however, Sirius does, and I love him. Why can't you accept that William, for my sake?"

* * *

"You're in trouble," Kamen informed his sisters' when they returned from their run.   
  
"Why?"   
  
"Let's see... Mum found out you put your trunks in my room, you went running when it was dark out... if I were you I'd hide until Mum gets off the warpath."   
  
"Thanks, I think we'll go hind out in..."  
  
"Where have you two been?!" Morgan felt like she was ready to snap. "You know you're not supposed to run in the dark! What if something happened to you? Do you have no regard for your own personal safety?"   
  
Dierna and Serena stared at their mother in shock for a moment, she was usually the calm parent, it took a lot to get her this worked up. "Mum, we didn't go far, it's not like anything happened," Serena said in their defense.   
  
"That doesn't matter! What you did was irrational and stupid! Never go out alone like that, especially now that..." Morgan stopped herself.   
  
"Now that what?" Dierna pressed for more information.

* * *

"Mama? Why is William angry at Sirius?" Willow joined her mother and brother, dragging her favorite blanket behind her.   
  
"I don't know sweetie," Elizabeth knelt down to her daughter's level, "maybe because he doesn't want us to forget your father?"   
  
"I can tell you exactly..." William started irritably.   
  
"Don't ruin this for her!" Elizabeth looked her tall son in the eye, her heart wringing as she realized how much he resembled her Edward. "If she is willing to accept Sirius then don't turn her against him. I couldn't bear it if both of you turned against me."   
  
"Mum, I'm sorry, but you know how I feel. I'm not going to pretend that I like him, even to please you. Marry him if you want, but don't expect me to be happy about it, and don't expect me to welcome him into this home, because I won't."   
  
Willow's lower lip trembled dangerously, "so is Sirius not going to be my daddy?"   
  
Elizabeth hugged her daughter close, "he would love to be your daddy, sweetheart. And I hope that you want him to, because he is what this family needs."

* * *

"I'm sorry girls," Morgan sighed, "I really didn't mean to yell at you like that, you just scared me half to death being out there when..." she stopped herself again.   
  
"Why don't you just tell us what it is Mum?" Kamen was as confused as his sisters as to what was going on.   
  
Morgan wavered for a moment, battling with herself over whether it was better to protect her children by not telling them, or if they should know so that they could be more careful... "The dark mark was seen today, and it was not very far from here. The Ministry is in an uproar, and we don't know for certain that there aren't dark forces still around. I want you to stay close to home, and do not go out after dark unless your father or I are with you."   
  
"Does this mean you're canceling your trip to Paris?" Serena asked.   
  
"I think it might be a wise idea..."  
  
"Go Mum, you deserve a vacation. Remus will be here with us, there's no reason for us to worry yet. The dark mark could have just been from some ex-death eater who got smashed and didn't realize what they were doing. You've been begging Dad to take you to Paris forever, don't back out now that you've finally gotten him to agree," Kamen tried to reassure his mother.   
  
"You promise me you will do exactly what Remus says while we're gone and that you won't go off anywhere by yourselves?"

"Yes Mum," her children chorused together.

* * *

"Dad, are you busy?" Nimue paused in the doorway to the living room.   
  
Severus looked down at the letter he had just received from Eric, but forced himself to put it down, "no I am not, did you need something?"   
  
Nimue shrugged her shoulders and looked down at the floor, "not really..."  
  
"Are you sure there is nothing you want to talk about?" Severus pushed gently.   
  
"Well... I'm kinda rethinking the trip to Avalon," Nimue admitted quietly.   
  
"Come here," Severus motioned for Nimue to join him on the sofa, "why are you unsure about going?"   
  
"Because it scares me. What if they want me to become a priestess!? What if they want me to leave Hogwarts?! What if I never learn to control my visions?! What if..."  
  
"Stop that Nimue," Severus said evenly, "I was not sure I liked this trip to Avalon, but I'm starting to think it might be good for you. You need to learn to control these visions, I cannot stand seeing you in pain over this. If the priestesses of Avalon can help you than you should go," he silently added to himself that with the reappearance of the dark mark he felt that Avalon was probably one of the safest places to be now, and he would feel better knowing that his daughter was there.   
  
Tears flooded Nimue's violet eyes as she buried her face her in her father's shoulder, "I just want them to stop! I don't want to live like this, seeing things..."  
  
Severus held his youngest as she sobbed against him, trying to figure out how to best deal with this outpouring of female emotion. He settled for wrapping his arms around her and waiting for her to calm down. When Nimue's wracking sobs subsided into the occasional sniffle he released her from his embrace and turned her face up, "do you feel better now?"   
  
Nimue nodded as she ran her hand across her eyes, "I just wish I knew why this was happening to me."

* * *

"Where are you going so early?" Serena asked.   
  
Kamen put a precautionary finger to his lips, signaling for his sister to be quiet, "Me and William are going out, we have...plans."   
  
"Mum and Dad aren't going to be happy, it is your birthday, I thought you were going to spend it with us."   
  
"No way, I can have more fun on my own. Besides, William wants to spend his last Sirius-free day enjoying himself, we're going to use this day to our advantage."   
  
"What are you going to do?" Serena gave her brother a skeptical look; sometimes she just didn't trust him.   
  
"Nothing for you to worry about little sister," Kamen gave her a lopsided grin before he turned to leave.

* * *

"What does your friend have to say?"   
  
"He is not my friend," Severus growled.   
  
Morgan wrapped a blanket around herself as she leaned against her husband, trying to get a look at the letter he had received from Eric the night before, "well?"   
  
Severus absently wrapped an arm around his wife as she snuggled closer to him, enjoying the feel of her warm body pressed against him, "Eric says that the dark mark was not just some former death eater fooling around, they killed a muggle last night."   
  
"Will this never stop?" Morgan hugged her husband tightly.   
  
"It will eventually, but it's not going to be pleasant, and lives will be lost," Severus said evenly, "we should just be thankful that those fools contented themselves by killing a stray muggle last night, it could have been worse. And with the Ministry up in arms about the whole thing Malfoy and his fellow conspirators should lie low for awhile."   
  
Morgan sighed deeply, "Does Eric know anything else?"   
  
"No, but he has acquired an assistant."   
  
"An assistant? Who could he possibly have as an assistant?"   
  
Severus shrugged and kissed Morgan gently, "I have no idea."

* * *

Stefan clutched his side as he was seized by pain. He had to stay conscious... that was all that mattered, he thought as he fell to the ground. Why did _crucio_ have to be so damn excruciating?   
  
He was barely breathing by the time the curse was lifted, and he lay on the floor for what seemed like an eternity, trying to find the strength to stand up.   
  
"Next time obey my orders instantly," Macnair spat at the younger man.   
  
"Enough of this," Draco said lazily, "I'm sure young MacNeill has learned his lesson and will be more compliant next time, let him go for the night."   
  
"Thank you sir," Stefan shakily climbed to his feet and nodded in Draco's direction, "I will try harder to please," and I hope you rot in hell, he added in his mind, as he left.   
  
"Why did you let him go so easily?" Macnair quipped; he had enjoyed seeing MacNeill squirm in pain.   
  
"I can't have him damaged."   
  
"Why not? I would like nothing better than to finish that damn little spy off."   
  
"Patience Macnair," Draco smiled menacingly, "our attempts at bringing back our master have failed so far, it may be because muggle blood is too weak. We may need a more suitable sacrifice sometime in the future. I want Stefan to be undamaged when his blood is poured out."

* * *

"Why can't I see her Willow?" Sirius knelt down in front of the four year old.   
  
"'Cause she doesn't want to see you."   
  
"Why not?" Sirius was a little worried, had he done something to upset Elizabeth?   
  
Willow giggled and rolled her eyes, "'cause she can't see the day before the wedding silly!"   
  
"Oh really," Sirius said as he reached out to tickle his favorite little girl, "and is that her rule or yours missy?"   
  
Willow shrieked with laughter as Sirius tickled her, "she said she'll see you tomorrow!"   
  
"What if I don't want to wait till tomorrow?" Sirius demanded as he lifted the little girl off the floor.   
  
Willow seemed to consider the question for a moment, "you could do something with me instead."   
  
Sirius laughed, "Alright," he put her back down, "go tell your mother I'm taking you out for awhile."

* * *

"Well... what do you think?"   
  
William shrugged, "this is certainly different, we've snuck out of school on plenty of occasions, but I don't think we've ever snuck into it before."

Kamen grinned, "yes, but Celeste Markham stayed at school for the holidays, and I have it on good authority that girls like to be surprised. So... us showing up here should definitely win me points with the fair Celeste."   
  
"Very poetic, however your intentions leave a bit to be desired," William commented dryly.   
  
Kamen pretended to look affronted, "do you dare suggest that I might have ulterior motives where one of the fairer sex is concerned?"   
  
William rolled his eyes, "yeah, pretty much."   
  
"Well you're right. This is one conquest that I intend to make. Shall we?"

* * *

Nimue stared at the bag on her bed, it scared her. It held her clothing for the trip to Avalon; it meant she really was going. She fidgeted a bit. She wasn't like her siblings, she didn't long for adventure, she didn't like being the center of attention, she liked quiet solitude, she liked being at home, it felt safe. She'd never been away from home by herself before, the fact that she was only going to be gone for a week didn't matter, she was still going somewhere new and different without her family.  
  
"Are you sure you're going to be alright sweetie?" Morgan leaned in the doorway to her daughter's room.   
  
"Yeah, I guess," Nimue picked up her bag, "is it time to go?"   
  
Morgan nodded as she came forward to envelope her youngest in a warm hug. "You'll be fine darling. You're stronger than you think you are, just give yourself a chance."   
  
Nimue tried to live up to the notion of Gryffindor bravery as she followed her mother downstairs, where Kalliope and Sophia were waiting.   
  
"Are you ready little one?" Kalliope asked gently, it would have taken a blind man to miss how Nimue was shaking with nerves.   
  
"Yes ma'am," Nimue answered softly.   
  
"Why can't I go with you?" Sophia pouted.   
  
"Because child, the priestesses of Avalon did not ask to see you, you are an unimportant novice who needs to learn her place before she can expect to be involved important matters of temple business."

Sophia glared at her guardian, showing her displeasure at being left out of what she considered to be an adventure.   
  
Kalliope turned her attention back to Nimue, "you will do fine child, I promise the Lady will not expect too much from you, and she will do better than I at helping you understand your visions. And you," she turned back to Sophia, "will be on your best behavior while I'm gone, or you will be spending the remainder of the holidays performing the most menial tasks at the temple, is that clear?"   
  
"Yes lady, I understand," Sophia rolled her eyes when she was sure her guardian wasn't looking.  
  
Morgan smiled at Kalliope, "I think Remus will be able to handle them, hopefully we don't have anything to worry about."

* * *

"It's a really good thing we have secret passageways to use; I wouldn't want to sneak in past those dragons."   
  
"It's a good thing you're a conceited git who thinks he can have everything his way, otherwise I wouldn't be sneaking into our school to help you get with the Head Girl," William replied sarcastically.   
  
"You know you love this," Kamen shot back.   
  
"True, very true."   
  
The two boys made there ways into the school via the Shrieking Shack and were soon sneaking along the hallways, checking the Marauder's Map every so often to make sure that they weren't going to be discovered.   
  
"Aha... Head Girl straight ahead," Kamen said as he examined the Marauder's Map, "she's coming right toward us. Perfect..."  
  
William stayed out of sight in the shadows of a doorway while Kamen casually leaned against the wall, waiting for Celeste to see him. She was reading a book while she walked, so she was nearly on top of Kamen before she realized he was there, "Kamen! What are you doing here?" she looked at him confusedly.   
  
"Waiting for you," Kamen answered smoothly as he pulled a daisy out of his robes and presented it to Celeste, "you refused my last offering of flowers, but I would like to try again."   
  
Celeste blushed as she accepted the bloom, "you're not supposed to be here, if you get caught you'll be in trouble."   
  
"But you won't report me, and besides," he flashed her his lopsided grin, "you'd be worth it."   
  
"So, why are you really here? You aren't going to vandalize anything are?"   
  
"No..." Kamen wished he'd thought of that, "I came to see you, and to ask you to go on a date with me," he rushed on when he saw that Celeste was about to protest, "no strings attached, just a date, to see if we have anything. One date, and after that, just say the word and I'll leave you alone, but if we do have something... well then, I'd like to escort you to the spring ball."   
  
"That's months away..."  
  
"But I like to be prepared."   
  
Celeste studied Kamen for a long moment; he was awfully good looking, and very smooth... "Fine, one date."   
  
Kamen grinned, "Great, Mystic Acid is playing in Hogsmeade on Thursday, we could go to the concert together."   
  
Celeste shook her head, "I can't leave the school, you know that isn't allowed."   
  
"That never stopped me."  
  
"And it won't stop you from getting in trouble now will it young Snape and Darcy?"

Kamen closed his eyes for a moment, "it had to be Filch that found us..." he murmured under his breath.   
  
"Oh yes... I've been waiting to catch at something for a long time," Argus Filch grinned, "perhaps I'll finally get you two trouble makers expelled, and then I'll be free of you."   
  
"Not today Filch," Kamen gave the irate caretaker a salute, gave Celeste a quick kiss on the cheek and pulled a handful of dung bombs out of his pocket, "better luck next time." He threw down the dung bombs as he and William made a quick exit.   
  
As soon as they were safely en route back to Hogsmeade Kamen let himself celebrate, "she said yes! Hell yeah! This went better than I planned."   
  
"I liked our dramatic exit," William replied lazily, "but I think we should lie low for awhile. I don't want to be home when Mum gets an owl from the school telling about our little exploit."

Kamen ran a hand through his hair, "good idea, being killed by my parents was not on my to do list today. Want to go to the Hog's Head for a drink?"   
  
"Of course, I'll even buy since it's your birthday."


	51. Chapter 51

* * *

"You look like you're about a million miles away from here."   
  
"Hmmm?" Dierna looked up dreamily from the letter she was reading.   
  
Morgan smiled, "I've been trying to get your attention for a full five minutes, that must be an interesting letter."  
  
Dierna's cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink, "it's from Stefan," she admitted quietly.   
  
"Does he have anything interesting to say?" Morgan asked as she sat down at the kitchen table across from her daughter.   
  
"Not really, he can't tell me anything about his mission. Mum, can I ask you something?"

"Of course darling."   
  
Dierna's blush deepened, "well, I was wondering... I mean... when did you know you loved Dad? And when did you know you wanted to marry him?"   
  
Morgan smiled as a dreamy look crossed her face, "it all seems so long ago..." she sighed, "Let's see... I knew that I was completely taken with your father when I was only a few months older than you are now, it was the middle of my seventh year..."

* * *

"How many more you think you can do?" Kamen's speech was a bit slurred as he looked across the grimy table at William.   
  
"At least three, hell, I'll even go for four," William pushed aside empty shot glasses as he reached for the bottle that sat between them.   
  
"You're on," Kamen poured his own drink, "wanna go till we pass out?"   
  
"Why not?" William raised his glass, "to my almost step-father, and the hell that my life is!"   
  
"Amen to that!" Kamen spilled part of his drink as he threw it back.   
  
The shifty eyed bartender made his way over to clear away some of the empty glasses, mumbling about worthless kids.   
  
"Come on mate, how about another bottle?" William brandished their empty one.   
  
The bartender shook his head, "you two have had too much already, I'm not carrying you out of here."   
  
"Fine we'll leave and get our drink on somewhere else!" Kamen stood up angrily and ran into a large hulking man on his way out the door, "out of my way!" the teenager growled.   
  
"On the contrary, I think you're the one in my way," the large man thumped a large meaty fist into the palm of his other hand.

* * *

"I had a crush on him for the longest time, the dark hair and eyes, the silky voice... the ideal romantic hero; I compared him in my mind to a desperate Heathcliff, or a brooding Mr. Rochester," Morgan smiled fondly at her memories, "and then one night I was out long after curfew. I had received a letter from a neighbor saying that my father had fallen asleep in a drunken stupor and knocked over a candle, but that the fire had been put out quickly and with little damage.   
"I was feeling very sorry for myself; I walked the halls, blinded by tears, trying to come to terms with the fact that my father was a good for nothing drunk who didn't love me or my sister. Your father found me, cried out, sitting on the floor in a damp dungeon corridor. He took me back to his office and let me sit on his sofa drinking countless cups of tea and pouring my heart out to him. He knew about my home situation, most of the teachers did, and he told me that everything would be alright.   
"I gave him some impertinent reply, about no one understanding. He told me that he understood better than anyone and that I was a survivor. He said I was a beautiful and talented woman, and that I would rise above it. The way he spoke to me that night... the way he cared for me... I was instantly in head over heels."   
  
"That's so sweet..." Dierna twirled the cameo ring on her right hand round and round her finger, her own thoughts straying to the young man who had given it to her.   
  
"You love Stefan," it wasn't a question; it was a statement, simply laid out on the table.   
  
"Yes, I do," Dierna whispered, her eyes shinning as she thought about him. "Mum... I think I want to marry him."   
  
Morgan reached for her daughter's hand, "I know that sweetie, just do me one favor. Wait until you've graduated, don't rush into anything."

* * *

Severus stared for a moment at the notice from the Ministry in disbelief. "I'm going to kill him..." he muttered as he rose from the desk in his study and reached for his cloak. He stopped in the kitchen just long enough to inform Morgan that he was going out and then disapparated to a nearby residence.   
  
Severus banged on the door, "Sirius, I know you're in there! Open this door now!"   
  
"What do you want?" A rumpled looking Sirius asked as he opened the door, he had been napping and his hair was tousled and his robes were twisted.   
  
Severus gave Sirius a disgusted look, "I need your help."   
  
"Wait a minute! The egotistic, slimy, git is asking for my help?!"   
  
"Shut up Black! I came to you because I wanted to save Elizabeth some added stress before her wedding day; you on the other hand, need all the parenting practice you can get..."  
  
"You've lost me; just tell me what is going on?"   
  
Snape held up several sheets of parchment, "first off, my son and your stepson as of tomorrow broke into Hogwarts this morning; secondly, they were arrested for starting a brawl in the Hog's Head. Care to join me to bail them out?"

* * *

"Is that Avalon?" Nimue asked in a small voice as she looked across the water to the mist enshrouded island.   
  
"Yes and no," Kalliope answered as she drew her cloak closer around her shoulders, "many centuries ago anyone could cross the lake waters and come to the holy isle. That was during the time of the Roman invaders. For awhile the priestesses and the Christians who came to Briton lived side by side peacefully, but eventually the Christian men tried to throw down the holy stones on top of the tor. The head priestess at that time removed Avalon from the world of men; it is no longer part of the world, but of the world."  
  
"How do we get there?" Nimue's soft eyes scanned the island as dusk began to settle.   
  
"Look," Kalliope pointed across the lake where a barge drifted towards them, poled by a small dark man covered in blue markings, carrying a tall blond woman robed in bright colors.   
  
"Greetings from the Lady Sianna, Lady of the Lake and High Priestess of Avalon," the woman bowed her head in greeting, "I am the lady Ana, priestess of the goddess. I shall take you across the lake to Avalon, so that you may meet with the High Priestess."

* * *

"Dad, I can explain everything," Kamen's speech was still slurred and he was still a bit unsteady on his feet.   
  
"I bet you can," Severus crossed his arms over his chest and scowled darkly, "what will be interesting is whether or not you live to see your next birthday."   
  
"Dad, really it's not our fault! We had to fight these guys!"   
  
"Would you like to keep going? Because you're only making things worse," Severus glared at his son. "We are going home now, and we will discuss this further when you are sober. I will see you tomorrow Sirius," Severus said as he grabbed Kamen and headed for the door, "enjoy the practice."   
  
Sirius found that it was harder than he thought it would be to control his temper, "we're going to my place to get you sobered up, your mother is not seeing you like this," he growled.   
  
"Don't tell me what to do!" William snapped back.   
  
Sirius frowned, "You will do exactly what I tell you. We are going back to my place, and once you have slept this off for a few hours we're going to discuss your behavior today."   
  
"You're not my father, so don't act like it!" William's dislike of Sirius was only magnified by his inebriated state.   
  
"You're damn right I'm not your father, but I'm going to act like it now. And if that thug who gave you this black eye didn't beat some sense into you, then I'm going to."

* * *

"Has Stefan asked you to marry him?" Morgan asked gently.   
  
Dierna blushed again, she couldn't remember ever spending so much of an evening with a red face, "no... but we have talked about it."   
  
"Is there anything else you'd like to talk about...?" Morgan teased.   
  
"Mum!!! No there is not!" Dierna glared at her mother.   
  
"Are you sure? Because if you need any advice..."  
  
"Nononononono!!!! Stop that, I don't want to here about anything that involves you and Dad, please stop!" Dierna clamped her hands over her ears as her mother dissolved into a fit of giggles.   
  
The two women turned around when the kitchen door banged open, admitting a stumbling Kamen and a livid Severus. "In your room now!" Severus bellowed, "and if I see you back down here before you are sober a hangover is going to be the least of your problems!"   
  
Kamen mumbled something unintelligible as he headed towards his room.   
  
"And you," Severus turned on Dierna, "what does he have planned for next week? And what does he have hidden in his room that I should know about?"   
  
"Ummm..." Dierna looked for a way to stall.   
  
"So help me Dierna, if you try to cover for him now you will be grounded until you leave this house."   
  
"He was planning a party and he has a rather large liquor collection in his room," Dierna quickly supplied, eager to save herself, even if it meant sacrificing her brother.   
  
Severus sighed and ran a hand over his face, "that boy is going to be grounded until he graduates..."  
  
"Sev," Morgan kept her voice low and calm, "remember what we talked about before," she gave him a meaningful look.   
  
Severus frowned at his wife, "I hardly think that counts in this situation."   
  
Dierna looked between her parents with interest, "Is this about the whole, 'they're going to try drinking at least once, we might as well resign ourselves to it' conversation?"   
  
Severus crossed his arms over his chest, his eyebrows going up, as he looked at his daughter, "and how do you know about that?"   
  
Dierna's eyes got large as she tried to pull off an innocent expression, while mentally reminding herself to find a better hiding place for the extendable ears she had purchased from Weasley Wizard Wheezes, she didn't want to lose them, "I just figured... ummm... I don't really know..."  
  
"Do yourself a favor and stop now," Severus told his daughter, while reminding himself that he had taken more than enough time to cool off about the boggart incident, and that he was going to talk to her about it tomorrow before he left for Paris.   
  
"I think I'm just going to go to my room for awhile," Dierna decided to make her retreat while she could.   
  
As soon as she left Severus gave his wife a weary look, "and I think I am going to go clear out our son's liquor collection, and try to restrain myself from killing him. You had better be wearing something very revealing when I join you for bed, I am going to need the distraction."

* * *

William groaned as he sat up, he had spent several hours sleeping on Sirius' couch, and he couldn't remember ever feeling this bad before. "Oh Merlin... I think my head is going to fall off..."  
  
"Think next time you'll think twice before drinking that much?" Sirius asked from the doorway. But William didn't reply, he bolted instead for the bathroom. Sirius made his way back to the kitchen while his almost stepson retched, he understood from firsthand experience how bad the very first bad hangover felt.   
  
"I'm not doing that again..." William mumbled as he joined Sirius in the kitchen, gladly accepting the mug of coffee he was handed, "I've never had this bad a hangover before."   
  
"You look like hell," Sirius provided his own opinion.   
  
"Look, I don't need your help, and I didn't ask you to bring me here."   
  
"Well, you're going to stay here awhile longer; your mother is not going to see you like this."   
  
"If you think that by doing this I'm going to be your friend you're wrong!" William growled.   
  
"Let's get a few things straight," Sirius' eyes were dangerously hard, "I'm not keeping you here in an attempt to win you over; I'm keeping you here to save your mother from additional pain."   
  
"What the hell are you talking about!?"   
  
"Watch your language, and don't talk to me like that. Do you realize how many tear stained letters I've received from your mother this year? Filled with messages about how much she loves me but that because of your behavior she's considered calling off the marriage, you have caused her no small amount of heartache this year William, and its going to stop now."

* * *

Whatever Nimue had been expecting to find upon her arrival at Avalon, this wasn't it. She had been expecting something along the lines of a grand temple, displaying all the power and might of Avalon; instead, she found herself in the midst of a cluster of small, rather common looking, stone and thatch buildings, bathed in the soft light of yellow torches.   
  
She nervously stayed by Kalliope's side as they approached one of the small buildings. Two large men stood in front of it, and as they approached, one of them lifted the leather flap that covered the entry way, ushering them inside.  
  
What happened next seemed was all a whirl to Nimue; she vaguely realized that she was being presented to the Head Priestess, and that there were other women in the room. However, she was exhausted, and could barely keep her eyes open.  
  
The next thing she knew she was being ushered along a dirt path by a plump older woman.  
  
"Where are we going?" Nimue asked between yawns.  
  
When she was told that she would spend the night with the other young novices she merely nodded mutely in response. She was too tired to care that she had been separated from Kalliope or that she was alone in a world of strangers. Those things didn't seem to matter here.

* * *

Dierna bounded down the stairs the next morning and practically skipped into her father's office, intent on borrowing a new book on medieval potions he had just acquired. "Morning Dad! Can I borrow that new book by Malacus?"  
  
Severus saw this as the opportunity he had been waiting for and jumped right in, "Are you pregnant?" He saw no reason not to be blunt.  
  
"What?!" Dierna's mouth fell open.  
  
"It is both rude and ungrammatical to answer a question with another question. I just want a simple yes or no answer."  
  
Dierna bristled; she knew her Dad was in a bad mood when he started picking on her grammar, "No, I'm not. How dare you just accuse me of that with no reason!" Her temper, as red hot as her hair, was quickly rising.  
  
"NO REASON!?! I know about your little boggart experience young lady, what else am I supposed to think?!"  
  
Dierna barred her teeth, "I can't believe you think so little of me that you would jump to conclusions like that! I hate you!!!"  
  
"Don't you dare take that tone of voice with me young lady," Severus closed in on his daughter, he hadn't intended for this conversation to get so heated but she was making this difficult, "you know nothing of hate! You have only been shown love your entire life and this is the way you treat that?! How do you think I should have reacted to the story about your boggart experience?!"  
  
"You could try trusting me!"  
  
"I know how you snuck around the school when Stefan visited you, and I know that you spent the night with him on at least one occasion, tell me why I should trust you."  
  
Dierna had had enough, how dare he insult her by doubting her word like this! She uttered two fateful words, "fuck you!"  
  
It took her a moment to realize that the gunshot-like crack she heard was her father's open hand connecting with her cheek, jerking her head to the side. It was possibly the last thing she had been expecting. 


	52. Chapter 52

"Good morning little one."  
  
Nimue shyly turned her eyes down as the High Priestess greeted her.

"I'm afraid that you were sleeping on your feet when we were introduced last night, I am the Lady Sianna."   
  
Nimue couldn't help but like the high priestess from the start, she was an ageing woman with long red hair, now greying, and she had a mothering look about her.   
  
"Can you help me with my visions?" Nimue asked tentatively, now that it was daylight once again she missed Kalliope, and wondered where the familiar priestess had gone.  
  
"I am sure of it; you are one of our line after all."   
  
Nimue frowned a bit uncertainly as she thought, "Like what I saw in a vision Kalliope showed me? I saw priestesses, and she told me I was from the line of Merlin and Arthur."   
  
Sianna smiled warmly as she motioned for Nimue to join her on a low bench by the warm fire, "your line goes back much further than that, even before Avalon was removed from the world of mortal men. Your ancestors served the goddess here from before the Roman invasion until two centuries ago."   
  
Nimue's eyes widened in wonder, "How do you know that?"   
  
"Because you come from a long and powerful line that is destined to return to Avalon," Sianna settled down to tell the tale. "Almost two thousand years ago there were no priestesses here at Avalon yet, they served the goddess from across the lake, on the mainland. There was one priestess there by the name of Lia, and she fell in love with a man called by the name of Gawen, she bore a son for the Goddess with him. Their son, also named Gawen, marked the combination of two powerful blood lines, and King Arthur would be his direct descendant years later, just as you are a direct descendant of Arthur through the line of Mordred. Every time the line of Gawen has been mixed with the line of priestesses here a shift has been made."

"I'm not sure I understand..."  
  
"I know it is difficult if you don't know the bloodlines," Sianna patted Nimue's hand reassuringly, "perhaps this will help, the first Gawen, the lover of Lia, was not a Briton, he followed the bronze eagles to our land, his name according to Roman records was Gaius Macellius Severus, a name which has been passed down through your family ever since then. You carry the blood of the conquerors and the conquered in your blood, you have a great destiny before you little one."   
  
"Stop confusing the girl! You can't expect her to understand your foolish lines until she understands herself."   
  
Sianna smiled, as an ancient looking woman and Kalliope joined them, "Nimue, this is Latis, former Head Priestess and the oldest woman to ever serve at the altar of the Goddess here. She is over a thousand years old, and only because she has sworn that she won't die until she meets the High Priestess who will bring our ways back to the wizarding world."   
  
Latis made an irritated noise, "I have told you time and again Sianna, your successor will be the most influential Lady of the Lake since Viviane presented Arthur with that damnable sword, I will die once I have met your successor, content to know that the line of Avalon will continue."

Sianna rolled her eyes, "whatever you say revered one."   
  
Latis thumped her knobby cane on the packed dirt of the floor, "I will talk with the girl now, you will leave us."

* * *

Dierna wasn't sure what she told her mother when she passed her on the stairs, it had been along the lines of 'have a great time in Paris, I going to sleep for awhile so I won't see you again before you leave' but she couldn't recall the exact words.   
  
She was profoundly thankful that her twin wasn't in their shared room when she reached it, she wasn't sure if she could handle talking to anyone right now. She crept towards the mirror, needing to see the damage for herself. Brushing her hair out of her face she examined her left check, wincing a bit as she pressed her fingers against her cheekbone. It was red, and a bit swollen, but it didn't look like it would bruise.   
  
She decided that it hadn't been the force of the blow that upset her the most, but the fact that her father actually hit her. She had never been struck before. And, even though her father had certainly used the threat of spanking when she was little, he had never even followed through with that. She didn't know what to think now...  
  
Throwing herself face down on her bed she buried her face in her pillow, and cried, really cried, not just a few irrepressible tears, for the first time in years.

* * *

William knocked on his mother's bedroom door before quietly admitting himself. He had come back late last night, after his and Sirius' 'conversation', although he figured 'dressing-down' would probably be a better word for it.   
  
He let out a low whistle, "damn Mum, you look good."   
  
Elizabeth smiled a bit nervously, "you really think so?"   
  
William nodded, "Sirius will definitely be pleased."   
  
Elizabeth paused in the middle of brushing out her long dark hair, "did you just mention Sirius and not make a degrading comment along with it?" she turned to face her son.   
  
William shrugged, "that doesn't mean I still don't like him, it just means I might think about tolerating him."   
  
Elizabeth's eyes filled with tears, "that means so much to me," she hugged her tall son, "I was afraid that you might not even show up for the wedding, I know how angry and hurt you have been over this whole thing."  
  
William hugged his mother back, "just don't expect me to change my name to Black, 'cause that's definitely not going to happen. Besides, I have to come to the wedding; someone has to give the bride away."

* * *

Dierna wished her parents would hurry up and leave. She didn't want to see them or anyone else for a long time. She just wanted to sleep and forget everything that had happened today. She sniffled into her pillow for awhile, trying to control the tears that were still threatening to spill over. She didn't want to cry again.   
  
She tensed as she heard footsteps coming towards her room, she hoped it was only her mother or Serena, they would leave her alone. Damn... that was definitely her father's tread. She rolled over on her side, hugging her pillow to her chest as she slowed her breathing, pretending to be asleep. Maybe she could avoid any further confrontations...  
  
She kept her eyes lightly closed and her breathing even and calm as her door creaked open. 'Please, just leave...' she thought desperately. She lay still, silently wishing that this would just all go away. She felt a muscle tick in her jaw and she could have cried in outrage when she felt him sit down next to her on the edge of the bed. 'Please, just think I'm asleep and go away...'   
  
Severus ever so gently ran his hand over his daughter's bright curls, wishing he could turn back time and undo his actions. Continuing to stroke her hair he spoke softly, "Every time my father beat me, every time I felt the back of his hand, or the sting of his belt, or examined my bruises, I swore that I when I had children I would never raise a hand to them. It terrifies me to no end knowing that what I did today was the action my own father would have taken, I never wanted you to know that feeling.   
"I hated my father for beating me, and I hate him to this day. He left too many scars, both physical and mental, for me to ever forgive him. You have every right to hate me for what I did to you," Severus had to stop and take several deep breaths before continuing, "no matter what you said to me, you did not deserve that. You could never do anything to deserve physical violence. I love you my little bright eyes, no matter what."

* * *

Nimue, wide-eyed in anticipation for what she would learn, followed Latis around for the rest of the morning, but nothing was said about her visions. She did as she was told, helping the ancient woman prepare an herbal remedy for one of the priestesses who was sick, and helping her tend the fire in the main building of the temple complex.   
  
Finally, as midday approached, Latis told Nimue to sit beside her on a bench before the fire. Nimue silently ate the food she was handed, waiting with curiosity to see what she might learn next, as she silently examined the old woman next to her. Latis' face reminded he of an apple that had sat in the sun for too long, it was all brown, and wrinkled, and leathery. But it was a kind face, with wise eyes.   
  
"Do not listen to all of Sianna's gibberish about your being of the line of Gawen or Arthur or any other fool man she puts up on a pedestal. She is a good High Priestess, but sometimes she relies too heavily on the changing aspects of life, those that do not last. I am more concerned with the unchanging, with the Goddess and her power," Latis examined the girl next to her, noting that she really was too small for her age. But while she had trembled with fear upon her arrival she was already beginning to relax.   
  
"Lady, might I ask you a question?"   
  
"Of course child, you are here to learn, ask all the questions you want."   
  
Nimue licked her lips, trying to find the best way to word what was bothering her. "Do the worlds of the priestesses and the wizarding world ever mix?"   
  
Latis gave a sharp bark of laughter, her blue eyes shining, "of course they do child, although it has been a long time since we have had any real contact. I hope that we can remedy that, we used to be great allies. Why, some of my favorite memories from my youth are of the adventures I had with Salazar Slytherin!"

* * *

William wasn't smiling when he handed his mother over to Sirius Black, but he found it hard to hate a man who loved his mother so much.   
  
It was a very small ceremony, the only people in attendance were Kamen, who had come to support his best friend, Harry, standing up as Sirius' best man, Ginny, Remus, and Willow, who kept tugging at the sash of her little set of dress robes and playing with the flower she had been given to hold, which interested her far more than the short ceremony.   
  
Elizabeth's eyes were shining with happiness as the ceremony ended and her new husband kissed her passionately. Tears filled her eyes as she thought of the two men who had so completely claimed her heart. That very morning she had put aware the picture of Edward that had been sitting by her bed, although it caused her tears, it no longer had a place there.   
  
"You're mine now," Sirius whispered as he gazed at his wife. This was definitely the happiest day of his life. He finally had a family at his own, one that he would love to add on to. He was about to tell Elizabeth that as far as he was concerned they could start work on increasing the size of this family anytime when he felt a tug on his robes. "Can I help you with something?" he asked as he swung Willow up in his arms.   
  
Willow took Sirius' face between her small hands and frowned at him in her adorable four year old way, "are you really my daddy now?"   
  
"Yes," Sirius felt tears fill his eyes as he assured the little girl that he really was her daddy now, and part of a family. He was practically glowing when she threw her arms around his neck, holding on to him tightly.

* * *

Severus sat there for several minutes, which felt to him like an eternity, as he watched his daughter pretend to sleep. He didn't blame her, after what he had done he wouldn't be surprised if she never wanted to speak to him again, or if she left... that thought was enough to make his heart squeeze in agony.  
  
He kept watching her, not wanting to leave when she was suffering because of something he had done. He cleared his throat a couple of times, trying to find the right words, he settled for the best he could come up with, "Dierna, tell me what to do and I will do it. One word from you and the Paris trip is off; a vacation is nothing to me compared to you."   
  
Dierna's throat felt like it was closing in, she choked on a sob that caught in her throat, but still tried to keep up her charade, even as tears trickled down her cheeks.   
  
"For what its worth I am sorry, and it kills me that for your whole life I have tried to protect you from pain, and now I am your greatest cause of it."   
  
Dierna threw herself into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. "I'm sorry Dad. I shouldn't have said that to you, and I really don't hate you." She clung to him, weeping, and shaking with emotion. All her tears came out, her anger, hurt, and confusion over being struck, her pent up frustration over a school year that hadn't gone very well, her pain over her separation from Stefan, it all came to the surface.   
  
Severus was shocked, his daughter, whom he had not seen cry in years, and who had every right to hate him, was now sobbing in his arms, clinging to him desperately. "You have nothing to be sorry for Dierna, I handled the situation very badly from the start, and I should have trusted you." He wasn't quite sure what to do, he had a vague idea of how to deal with tears from his other daughters, but he'd never really had to deal with an emotional Dierna. He settled for holding her tightly, albeit awkwardly, while she cried against him.   
  
Dierna didn't understand what she felt. She wanted to hate her father for what he had done to her, but she couldn't. The hand that had struck her was now holding her in a close embrace.   
  
Severus gently pushed Dierna back from him, "let's have a look at your face now..." he brushed her bright curls out of her face and ran his finger along her left cheekbone, "I'll be right back, stay here for a moment," he said.

Dierna took several gulping breaths as she tried to regain control of herself. She reached under her pillow and retrieved a lace-edged handkerchief, which she used to dab her eyes.   
  
"What happened sweetie?" Morgan asked from the doorway.   
  
Dierna looked down at her lap, and played with the folds of her skirt. She wasn't sure if she wanted to tell her mom what had happened.

* * *

"But Salazar Slytherin was a horrible man! He didn't want to let anyone but pure bloods into Hogwarts, he's the reason there is so much animosity between the school houses." Nimue couldn't believe that this kind old woman had actually been friends with Slytherin.

Latis made a tsking sound as she shook her head, "I thought you were smarter than that girl! Now tell me, who writes the history books?"   
  
Nimue just stared at Latis, her head swimming.   
  
"The winners write the history books my girl," Latis emphasized her words with a thump of her cane on the ground, "and good men and women are doomed to be classified as 'evil' because of the history the winners pass down."   
  
"I don't understand..."  
  
Latis sighed, "Think about the state the world was in when Hogwarts was founded a thousand years ago. Christianity influenced nearly everyone's way of life. Witchcraft was a word that could start panics. The people began to fear magic, and everything that it encompassed. The priestesses here retreated further away from the world. And then, at the height of it all, Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw decided to start their little school."   
  
"But how else could anyone learn magic, they needed to start the school!" Nimue protested.   
  
"Child, for centuries before that the art of magic was passed down through wizarding families, parents taught their children. They could have continued that way, but no... they didn't. Countless lives were lost during the persecution of witches..."  
  
"But they could defend themselves!"   
  
"Fully trained witches and warlocks could. But not the children and not the innocent muggles who were accused of witchcraft. And that is why Salazar didn't want to let muggle borns into Hogwarts. He was afraid of what would happen if children from a non magic family received a letter saying they were a witch. Some of those children were allowed to attend the school, but others... their parents turned them over to the church, had them burned, or hung... those were horrible years."   
  
"They let their own children die because of their prejudices?" Nimue covered her mouth with her hands. "That's so horrible, how could they do that?"   
  
"People will do anything to destroy that which they don't understand and fear."   
  
"That still makes it horrible," Nimue's eyes grew misty, "I can't believe so many innocent people were killed..."  
  
"Yes, it is horrible, remember child, narrow-mindedness is one of the worst thing the world has ever seen. Salazar tried to save lives, but he was overruled by the other three, because of their decision to allow everyone into the school more children and innocent muggles than I care to think of were sentenced to death, or disowned, or were scorned by their families, persecuted by the new religion..."

* * *

Morgan tilted Dierna's face up gently and ran a finger across the swollen part of her cheek, "you're lucky your father doesn't wear rings, it could have been worse," she had wrangled the story out of Dierna, although it had been obvious that her daughter didn't want to share.   
  
Dierna mumbled something as she looked back down at her lap.   
  
Morgan frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, "don't come to me looking for pity young lady, you got exactly what you deserved for speaking to your father that way," at Dierna's shocked look she continued, "not that I condone what he did, but if you ever speak to him like that again..." Morgan sighed, "I can't believe what you said, it was disrespectful, rude, uncalled for..."  
  
Severus cleared his throat, announcing his presence, as he rejoined the ladies, "here," he sat down by Dierna on her bed and pressed a cool, damp, cloth to her cheek, "the swelling won't last long. Now, tell me the truth, would you rather we put off the Paris trip and stay here, or are you comfortable with us leaving now?"   
  
Dierna fought off the temptation to just shrug and say 'whatever', she took time to think about her answer, "Go, I'm still upset, but I just need some time to myself."   
  
"Are you sure?" Severus pressed as his wife slipped out of the room, "I know that this is not the kind of thing that you can forget or forgive."   
  
Dierna tipped her head to the side, and removed the cloth from her face, "you're right, this isn't something that I'll forget, but I can easily forgive you," she leaned forward and brushed her father's cheek with a light kiss, feeling incredibly safe and loved as he hugged her tightly.

* * *

"Meg darling, you look gorgeous!" Alberto lifted Meg from the floor as he hugged her.   
  
"Hey! Hands off my wife!" Charlie growled good naturedly as he rescued his wife from Alberto's amorous advances.   
  
"Now Weasel, you can't blame a man for trying, she is a beautiful woman after all, it doesn't hardly seem fair that you don't share..." Alberto flashed his most charming smile.   
  
"Oh stop it you two!" Meg swatted Alberto on the arm as she gave Charlie a longing look, clearly she was going to have to wait to be alone with him, not that she wasn't happy to have guests for the holidays, she just wanted her husband to herself for awhile, "Zach, let me show you to your room, I'm sorry that you have to share with 'Berto, but we only have the one guest room, and he does snore."   
  
"I do not!" Alberto shot back narrowing his eyes at the saucy grin Meg gave him, "besides, where's my share of this hospitality, I don't get a personal escort service to our room?"

Meg rolled her eyes, "as if you don't know where it is! How many times have you crashed her Alberto? Now be nice or you won't get any dinner," she playfully scolded.   
  
Charlie caught Meg as she came back down the stairs from settling Zach in, "are you sure you don't mind that I brought the boys back with me for the holidays?"   
  
"Of course not darling, you know that I don't," she stood on tiptoe to graze his cheek with a feathery soft kiss.   
  
"Good," Charlie grabbed her around the waist, "because I have a feeling that we can exploit them as full time babysitters, we need to make up for lost time," he breathed against her neck, drawing her close.   
  
Meg blushed up to the roots of her curly blond hair as her husband made his intentions known.

* * *

"Well?"   
  
"Well what?" William looked at his head of house with raised eyebrows.   
  
Remus smiled, "think you can live with him?"   
  
William glanced over to where his mother and Sirius were standing, slightly apart from everyone else, glowing with shared love. He shrugged, "I don't really have a choice now, but I guess I can live with it."   
  
"I think you'll manage just fine," Remus glanced at his watch, "they're going to want to leave anytime now. Think we should get going ourselves?"   
  
"Sure," William and Remus said their goodbyes to the newlyweds and gathered up Willow, who shed a few tears at being separated from her mother, but went with Remus willingly enough when bribed with a chocolate frog.   
  
"When will they be back?" Willow asked mournfully from her place on Remus' arm.   
  
Remus shifted her slightly and looked at the little girl with large blue eyes, and straight black hair, thinking that she could easily pass as Sirius' biological daughter, "in six days. You don't miss them already, do you?" he teased a smile out of her, hoping that she wouldn't miss her mother and new father too badly while they were gone.   
  
"Is that before Christmas?"   
  
"It most certainly is Miss Willow, you think you can wait that long?"   
  
Willow nodded slowly, "as long as they're here for Christmas..."

* * *

Dierna surveyed her face in the mirror, not a mark on it, and accept for the slight red tinge to her cried out eyes no one would no that anything had happened. She tried to shrug it off, but it still felt like a grey cloud was hanging ominously over her. She sighed and headed for the shower, making the water just a touch too hot, but not carrying.   
  
She had told her father that she forgave him, but had she really done that, or just said it to make him feel better? She honestly didn't know. She tilted her head back as the steaming water ran over her, hoping that it would scald away all of her doubts.   
  
Finally she gave up, and dressing as comfortably as possible in warm flannel pants and a baggy shirt she headed back for her room. She wasn't very surprised when she found her father waiting in her room for her. She just hoped that guilt wouldn't keep him hanging around for too long.   
  
"Your mother and I are going to leave now, Remus is here."   
  
"Alright, have a good time..." Dierna fiddled with the drawstring on her pants.   
  
Severus reached out to brush a stray curl out of Dierna's face, an act that he had performed on countless occasions. But this time was different, this time his daughter flinched as his hand came near her face. He felt his heart drop as he pulled his hand back, dropping it into a fist at his side, trying not to think about the panicked look that had come into Dierna's eyes. No matter what she had said about forgiving him, there was obviously a lot of healing that had to happen before she would trust him again.   
  
He sighed, mentally berating himself for this cruel turn of events. He didn't say anything, but moving very slowly brought his hand back up to cup Dierna's jaw in his hand, noticing the way she tensed but choosing to ignore it. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and turned to leave, hoping that this whole mess would find a way of resolving itself.


	53. Chapter 53

"Anything else I need to know?" Remus asked, smiling at the way Morgan flitted about, her movements reminding him of a bird as she gave him last minute instructions.  
  
Morgan paused for a moment, thinking fast, "You know the situation with the new dark forces; I want none of my children out after dark. They can go into Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley if they like, but only during the day and only if at least three of them are together. I don't know Remus; just use your best judgment. You have my permission to deal with anything arises as you see fit."   
  
Remus nodded, "alright, I think we'll be fine. Elizabeth and Kalliope told me that whatever rules you set down applied to theirs too. We shouldn't have any problems."   
  
Morgan snorted, "Well, for your sake I hope that's true, but I know my children too well to agree with that."   
  
"Mum, stop worrying, we'll be fine, nothing is going to happen," Kamen smiled angelically.   
  
Morgan crossed her arms over her chest, "it better not, because if I hear anything, and I mean anything negative about the way you behave while I'm gone there will be hell to pay."   
  
"Awww... Mrs. S, you don't have anything to worry about," William hugged his best friend's mother, "trust us."   
  
"That," Morgan said, still frowning but with her eyes sparkling, "is the thing that scares me the most."

* * *

Zach rolled his head back in a half circle, trying to work out the knots in his neck.   
  
"Stop working amigo, its vacation time," Alberto plopped down on the sofa next to him.   
  
"Easy for you to say, you don't have safety reports to fill out for the school, and you don't have a crazy grandfather pestering you to come to Paris every chance he gets."  
  
"Well I'm glad you're in such a good mood," Alberto said dryly, "you're just full of sunshine today. But what does the old man want now? He usually leaves you alone."   
  
Zach sighed, "He says he has something that will be very beneficial to our 'cause'. At least that's the way he put it."

"What in the world is that batty old kook talking about?"   
  
"An assistant whom he has acquired, who apparently has a great deal of knowledge about very old and very obscure potions. He wants me to get this person into the Order."   
  
"I'd say that it's at least worth checking out," Alberto gave his friend a sly smile, "and who knows, this assistant may turn out to be a beautiful woman, you may just hit the jackpot on this one, and Paris is the city of love..."  
  
Zach rolled his eyes as he stood up and stretched, "nice try 'Berto, but I'm not interested in pursuing a love life at the moment. But I will pay my dear grandfather a visit after Christmas, we need all the help we can get."

* * *

Morgan couldn't help the smile that crossed her face as she stepped over the threshold into the muggle hotel room. Sev had certainly not spared any expense, when he took her on vacation he did it right.   
  
She quickly explored, taking in the large sunk in jacuzzi in the bathroom, and the large ornate bedroom, decorated in mint green with lots of gold leaf. She hopped up on the bed, and sat cross legged, glancing up at her husband as he watched her. "Sooo... what now?"   
  
Severus chuckled as he crossed the room in several long strides and kissed his wife deeply, "whatever you want love."   
  
Morgan grinned wickedly, bolting up from the bed and grabbing Sev's hand, "you're taking me shopping, and you are at least going to pretend to be enjoying yourself."   
  
She laughed as Severus caught her around the waist and pulled her against him for another passionate kiss, "whatever you want darling, but you better make this shopping excursion worth my trouble tonight," he growled seductively.

* * *

"What is that!?" Sophia squeaked as she glanced out the window.   
  
William glanced up and shrugged, "it's snowing."   
  
"That's snow!?" Sophia grabbed William's hand and dragged him out of his chair, where he had been reading, "let's go outside I want to see it!"   
  
William started to protest, but couldn't after he saw how excited Sophia was, "fine, lets go get our cloaks, and then we can go outside and see the snow," he was starting to warm up to the idea, "maybe by tomorrow there will be enough to have a snowball fight, and we'll have to go to Diagon Alley when it's all snowy and decorated for Christmas, that's always fun."   
  
Sophia paused in her frantic search for her cloak, "why do they decorate?"

William couldn't help laughing, "Just get your cloak, and I'll try to explain Christmas to you while we see the snow."

* * *

"Dammit Harry, you can't keep hovering over me like this!" Ginny exclaimed in exasperation, and then sighed as she saw her husband's face drop. "Harry, I'm sorry, and I am trying. I just don't know what to do with you here; I'm not used to having you around underfoot."   
  
"That's my fault; I should have made more of an effort years ago. Tell me what to do so that you can get your work done," his tone practically begged to please.   
  
Ginny glanced at the pile of paperwork she had to fill out for work. Sometimes she loved her job at St. Mungo's and then there were days like this when she didn't even want to think about work. She looked up at her husband, and then past him out the window where snow was silently falling, obscuring the moors. "How long did you talk my mother into keeping the kids for?"

"She said she'd keep them until Christmas if we wanted."   
  
Ginny chewed her lip thoughtfully, if only she could keep from snapping at her husband the way she had the past couple of days... he was trying, and even though they'd certainly been through more than their fair share of rough spots, she still loved him.   
  
She arched her back, trying to relieve the tension in her spine, "let's go for a walk." The two of them had just been sitting around the house so far, and had been tactfully trying not to step on each other's toes by talking about there problems, but that needed to stop if they were going to have any chance of mending their problems. "We need to talk, and maybe the fresh air will help."

* * *

Nimue breathed in the sharp cold air as minuscule snowflakes fell silently around her.   
  
"Can you feel it little one?"   
  
Nimue took a deep breath and help it, "yes," she whispered as she breathed out again. She felt all tingly, and her senses seemed to be heightened.   
  
"I can't say that I agree with what Kalliope told you about the elements choosing priestesses," the Lady Sianna spoke softly, "that is a belief that is central to her own temple, here we embrace everything. Feel the earth beneath you, it is the goddess, you can feel Her breathing. Feel the air around you, that is Her voice. The holy water that springs from the well by the temple, that is Her nectar, given to us, Her children, to sustain us. Fire is Her heartbeat. They are all connected, just as we are as women. Mothers, daughters, sisters, wives... we are all connected in service to the goddess."   
  
"But I had never heard of your goddess until I started having the visions, how can I serve her?" Nimue's voice was little more than a frightened whisper in the stark wintery air.   
  
"Because she is your goddess too. She is a part of you."   
  
"Lady!!! Lady Sianna!!!"   
  
Sianna shaded her eyes against the glare of the winter sun, "what is it Ana?"   
  
The pale priestess ran up, clutching her side from her exertion, "Latis is dead Lady. Remember what she prophesized, about your successor..." Ana's gaze fell on Nimue.   
  
"Hush, now is not the time to discuss that," Sianna commanded briskly, "we have to prepare her for burial. Her death is a great loss to the service of the goddess."   
  
Nimue suddenly felt very cold, and she knew that it had nothing to do with the winter wind.

* * *

Morgan glanced behind her and suppressed a smile. Her husband was obviously trying his hardest not to enjoy this. But damn... did he look good in the muggle clothes he had found, black slacks and a black turtle neck sweater. Not that different from his normal black robes, but Morgan appreciated it nonetheless.  
  
Now if only he would actually walk with her... Morgan sniffed, he was probably afraid that her buoyant shopping mood was infectious, and her husband made a point of never showing any emotion other than irritation when he was in public. She glanced over her shoulder again; he was several yards behind her.   
  
Shaking her head in amusement Morgan ducked into an upscale clothing shop, knowing that Severus would follow her. So, she was a bit surprised when she browsed for nearly an hour with no sight of her husband. She resisted the temptation to worry; her husband could take care of himself after all.  
  
She sighed as she fingered the hem of a dress on display in front of her; it was the perfect little black dress. She was half tempted to buy it, not that she had anyplace to wear it in the wizarding world, but she did have a certain fondness for muggle clothes. And the little cocktail number was charming... when a friendly sales clerk came to ask her if she would like to at least try the dress on she had to bite her tongue to keep from answering too fast.   
  
"We'll take it, in a size 6, and wrap it up."   
  
Morgan jumped slightly, and turned to find herself facing her husband's chest. "I really don't need the dress Sev..."  
  
Severus raised an eyebrow, "nonsense, you'll look stunning in it."   
  
Morgan rolled her eyes, "and where am I going to wear a dress like that?"   
  
Severus put a possessive arm around her waist, "you just let me worry about that."   
  
Morgan gave him an inquisitive look, but dropped the subject, "so, where have you been for the last hour?"   
  
"Shopping."   
  
Morgan frowned at his short and unlikely answer, "For what?"   
  
"That, my dear, is none of your business."   
  
Morgan sighed, giving up, "well, if you're going to keep secrets from me than you better take me somewhere nice for dinner."   
  
"With pleasure," Severus guided Morgan's arm through the crook in his elbow as he escorted her out of the store, the new dress, now packaged up, securely held in his other arm.

* * *

Remus glanced at the clock, 3AM. He couldn't believe that the boys had just now gone to bed. This week was definitely going to be longer than he had thought. He decided to run downstairs for a minute to make sure the boys hadn't destroyed anything, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know what they had been doing, but figured he was responsible for making sure that none of the kids did something like blowing up the house.   
  
He blinked wearily as he reached the bottom of the stairs, noticing that there was light and noise coming from the direction of the kitchen, "what now..." he mumbled to himself, while deciding that everyone would be in bed by midnight the next night.   
  
Remus shaded his eyes against the sudden rush of light as he stepped into the bright kitchen. He watched silently for a moment, as Dierna finished making a pot of tea, "do any of you ever sleep?"   
  
Dierna looked up and smiled, "Want a cup?" she asked as she reached for another mug. "The boys will probably go to bed earlier tomorrow, don't worry about them."   
  
"And you? I expect all of you to be in bed by midnight tomorrow."   
  
Dierna smiled over the rim of her mug, "didn't Mum or Dad warn you about my nighttime habits?"   
  
Remus shook his head as he took the mug of tea Dierna handed him, "what were they supposed to warn me about?"   
  
"That I don't sleep, at least not for most of the night. I inherited Dad's sleeping habits. Mum and all of my siblings sleep like the dead; you literally can't wake them up. Me and Dad are both really light sleepers, everything wakes us up, and since Serena talks in her sleep, I usually spend several hours of every night trying to find ways to tire myself out. I only sleep four or five hours every night."   
  
"I can't believe you make it through the school year like that..."  
  
Dierna grinned, "It used to be worse, when I was younger I walked in my sleep."   
  
Remus ran a hand over his face, "well, I'm too tired to keep you company for any longer, so I'm trusting you to get yourself to bed sometime while it's still dark out."

* * *

"What are we doing today?" Morgan leaned over her husband.   
  
Severus squinted against the early morning sunlight as he woke up, to find his wife crouching beside him on the bed. "Good god woman, can't you let a man sleep in on vacation?" he growled.  
  
Morgan giggled, "Not when I'm ready to go do something."   
  
Severus closed his eyes again, "I would have thought that after last night you would have needed your sleep too."   
  
Morgan brushed her lips against her husband's as she fought back another fit of giggles, "come on Sev, get up. I want to go shopping again."

"Absolutely not."   
  
"Why not?" Morgan pouted.   
  
Severus opened his eyes slowly, "because, I don't want you tiring yourself out. I thought that we would take it easy today, I have something special planned for tonight."   
  
"What is it?"   
  
"You will just have to wait."

* * *

"How can you have so much energy after how little sleep you got last night?" Remus looked up as the Kamen, William, Dierna, and Serena jostled their way into the kitchen after a morning run.   
  
"It's nothing, you're just getting old Lupin," William said as he grabbed a piece of toast off of Willow's plate.   
  
"That's mine!" Willow cried in outrage.   
  
"Not anymore," William teased.  
  
"Meanie," Willow pouted.   
  
Remus rolled his eyes heavenward, "it's going to be a very long week..." he muttered.

* * *

"Where do we stand with Eric?" Draco asked as he reached for his drink.   
  
"He is working with a new apprentice, someone who could potentially be very dangerous to us," Macnair answered tentatively.   
  
Draco swirled the drink in his hand, "the one from Bremen?"   
  
"Yes."   
  
"I'm not concerned."  
  
"But sir, if what they're saying is true..."  
  
"I told you not to worry about it." Draco sneered.   
  
"Of course sir, I just wanted to make sure that we take all the precautions we can, to have come this far and fail..."  
  
"We will not fail, all the insurance we need is sitting in the cellar of this house. And if that fails us, well, then we have young MacNeill at our disposal."

* * *

"Sev... are you going to tell me now?" Morgan draped herself over her husband's shoulders from behind his chair, and snatched the Daily Prophet out of his hand, "I'm getting impatient."   
  
"I can tell," Severus remarked dryly. "Fine, go put on your new dress, and then I'll tell you."   
  
Morgan gave her husband a curious look but hurried to do what he said. A short time later she emerged in the clingy black dress, her hair gathered in a knot at the back of her neck, "what do you think?" she asked, smiling at her husband.   
  
"I think that you are the most beautiful woman to have ever graced the face of the earth."   
  
Morgan blushed with pleasure, "well, you're obviously in a giving mood tonight. Care to tell me where we're going now."   
  
"Close your eyes."   
  
Morgan narrowed her eyes at her husband for a moment, trying to figure out what he was up to, but complied. She bit back a giggle when he took her hands in his and led her across the room, but then left her. She frowned, and was just about to call for him when she felt him come up behind her, and slide something that felt cool to the touch around her neck.   
  
"Open your eyes."   
  
Morgan sighed as she looked in the mirror, realizing the reason her husband had positioned her here, as she raised her hand to finger the string of emeralds around her neck, "Oh Sev... it's gorgeous."   
  
"There are ballet tickets that go with that necklace..."  
  
Morgan turned around and threw herself into her husband's arms, "I love you Sev," she whispered as she buried her face in his shoulder.   
  
Severus held his small wife for a long moment, enjoying the feel of her in his arms. "We better get going," he finally said, not really wanting the moment to end.   
  
Morgan grabbed a thin, red cashmere shawl and wrapped it around her shoulders, smiling at the way her husband frowned at it, knowing exactly what he was thinking, "don't worry Sev, it has a warming charm on it."   
  
Morgan gladly apparated with her husband to a location close to the old opera house, which now housed the Paris ballet. "Do you think Eric will make an appearance tonight?" she whispered.   
  
"Hopefully not." Severus was immensely grateful that the opera house's disturbed resident did not make an appearance that night, and that after the ballet, which he had barely followed, being too wrapped up in the way his wife leaned against him, they were able to escape the crowd quickly.   
  
"Can we walk for awhile Sev, I'm not ready to go back to the hotel yet," Morgan clutched her husband's arm.   
  
"Are you sure you won't be too cold?"  
  
"Positive," Morgan asserted, "maybe a walk along the Seine... by the Eiffel tower...?"  
  
Severus chuckled at his wife's not so subtle hints as they apparated to an area closer to the Eiffel tower.   
  
"It's beautiful like this," Morgan breathed in cold air deeply, "all lit up against the night sky... it didn't impress me during the day... but now..."  
  
Severus squeezed her hand in response, thinking about how complete his love for this woman was.  
  
"Look, its snowing!" Morgan exclaimed as she danced a couple of steps out of Severus' reach, turning her face up to the falling snow. She looked back over at her husband and closed the distance between them, reaching up to run her fingers through his hair, "you're starting to grey a bit, right here at your temples," she murmured.   
  
"You make me feel old."

"That's not what I meant! I think it looks dignified," she rose up on her toes to kiss her husband. "I think I'm ready to go back now..."

* * *

Remus was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly the day had gone by. The kids had behaved themselves relatively well, Willow had been put to bed several hours ago with no complaints, and now the rest of them were heading up, save Dierna who insisted she couldn't sleep yet.   
  
"Play me a game of chess Professor and I'll think about going to bed," she said cheekily.   
  
Remus couldn't help smiling, "promise? Because I need my sleep, especially since apparently I'm 'old' now."   
  
Dierna gave him a sly smile, "I bet that's not what Kalliope thinks..."  
  
Remus felt his mouth drop open and quickly recovered himself, "that, young lady, is none of your concern."   
  
Dierna shrugged, "maybe not... but there's a pool going in Gryffindor tower to see how soon you two get married."


	54. Chapter 54

Morgan glanced over at her husband and frowned. He was once again immersed in the Daily Prophet and was ignoring her. "Sev... put the paper down dear, you can read it later," she purred.  
  
"Give me a few minutes Morgan and you shall have my full attention."   
  
Morgan pouted, she wanted his attention now, "please Sev," she pushed. When she didn't get a response she grinned impishly, and moved closer to her husband on the large bed and ran a hand through his hair. When that didn't work she moved her hand down to his thigh, pretty sure that she could get a reaction that way.   
  
Severus calmly removed her hand, "Five minutes Morgan, that is all I am asking," he was trying to read between the lines of the Daily Prophet to find out what was really going on in the Ministry at the moment, he was more than a bit worried.   
  
Morgan tried to get his attention again, this time she lifted a few strands of his black hair and braided them together, only to find her wrist in an iron grip.   
  
"Do not do that, you will find yourself in a lot of trouble."   
  
"Not likely..." Morgan huffed.   
  
"Try me."   
  
Morgan moved her hands towards his hair again.   
  
"Do it and I will spank you," Severus threatened in a dangerously silky voice.  
  
"I don't believe you."   
  
Severus only gave her a mildly amused look as he turned back to his paper, "by the way, why are you wearing my shirt?"

"Because I like it," Morgan replied. She had all sorts of silky and rather scandalous pieces of nightwear that her husband had bought her, but she preferred to wear his button down, collared, shirts to bed. She loved the way that the soft cotton felt, and the way it smelled like her husband.   
"See if you can't stay out of trouble for the next two minutes..."  
  
Morgan kissed her husband on his cheek, then quickly added another braid to his hair and scrambled for safety. She squealed as Severus easily caught her around the waist and hauled her back to the middle of the bed.   
  
"I warned you," he said in a mild voice as he swept her with his piercing gaze, taking in her disheveled hair and the way that his shirt had twisted around her.

"I'm sorry Sev," Morgan looked at him with pleading eyes.   
  
"You certainly will be."   
  
A small scuffle ensued, which involved much giggling from Morgan's part, and ended up with her laying sprawled across her husband's chest. As she lay there she listened to her husband's heartbeat, finding comfort in its steady rhythm. She twined the fingers of her right hand with those of Severus' left, while he gently rubbed her back with his right. She buried her face in his shoulder, tears streaming down her face.   
  
"Are you crying?" There was no mistaking the wetness against his shoulder, but it took Severus by surprise.   
  
"Yes." Morgan sniffed.   
  
"Why?" Severus gently brushed the hair out of her face.   
  
"I'm sorry Sev, my emotions just caught up with me. I just love you so much, and I'm so glad that we have this time together, just the two of us. It means a lot to me."   
  
While Severus was left to ponder the workings of a woman's mind, coming to the conclusion that he would never understand them, his wife once again fell silent, and lay very still.   
  
"What are you thinking about now?"   
  
"Our wedding night," Morgan quietly admitted. She smiled a bit, "this is a little different, isn't it?"   
  
Severus laughed as he held his wife close to him. He remembered their wedding night well. They had finally been alone in their bedroom, and Severus had been so ready to consummate the marriage. But Morgan, who was only seventeen, was overcome by her emotions. The stress of getting married on short notice, of leaving her little sister behind in the care of their neglectful father, and her own fear took over. She simply sat on the bed and cried. Severus knew better than to try and push her, and had spent the night holding her while she cried herself out. It hadn't been what he planned.   
  
"You're not falling asleep on me are you?" he asked as Morgan became still again.   
  
"No. I love you Sev."   
  
"And I love you my little Morgan."

* * *

Nimue hugged her knees to her chest and stared blankly across the small room. She sniffled a bit, but resisted the urge to cry. She couldn't believe that Latis was dead; the old woman had been so nice to her. But the prophecy scared her more... they had said that Latis would only die when she had met Sianna's successor, the one who would help bring the worlds of priestess and wizard back together, "but what if I don't want to be a priestess?" she asked out loud.   
  
"Sometimes the choice isn't ours to make."   
  
Nimue's head shot up, and she wiped away a few tears as Kalliope joined her. "I'm so scared," she admitted.   
  
Kalliope sat down beside the trembling girl and wrapped a motherly arm around her, "listen to me. Sometimes prophecies are all they are meant to be, and sometimes they're just a load of made up nonsense. If you are truly meant to be a priestess you will find the strength to handle the job, and the goddess will guide you every step of the way. What is meant to be will be, and what is not meant to be fades into oblivion. Worrying about it is useless, just a waste of time."   
  
"I wish I knew..."  
  
"Perhaps you can," Kalliope looked down at Nimue, "you could try to See what will happen." She retrieved a bronze mirror and placed it in Nimue's hand, "clear your mind child, and call upon the goddess to help you."   
  
Nimue gazed at the smoky surface of the bronze and took several deep steadying breaths. She let her vision fall out of focus as she prepared for a vision, and for once, the searing pain was not present. "Please," she whispered, "show me what will come to pass..."   
  
She sucked in her breath as a blinding light seemed to flash from the mirror, and yet she knew that she was the only one who could see it. She watched in horror as the light faded and left behind a scene of flames and black clouds, shivered as it became obvious that the hand of death had held the familiar street before her in its grasp. It was Hogsmeade, and it was utterly devastated.

Somehow this hurt worse than any physical pain that had accompanied visions before. In them she had seen Hogsmeade in flames, but never like this. It was like the whole town had died, a black shadow hanging over it.   
  
She choked on a sob as she, through the vision, looked down on the charred remains of stores and homes, the black, disfigured forms that were once the shopkeepers and families, all bathed in the eerily green light of the Dark Mark.  
  
"Please, isn't there anything that can be done to change this?" Nimue asked desperately, she was so wrapped up in the vision, in a trance-like state, that she didn't now if she voiced the question out loud or if it was only in her mind. She peered desperately into the mirror, although she had almost become part of the vision at this point. As she watched the vision shifted ever so slightly. The grim visage that had been Hogsmeade was bathed in a soft purple light.   
  
And then Nimue crumpled to the floor, as the vision ended, and consciousness left her.

* * *

Sirius wrapped an arm around Elizabeth's waist as the walked along the warm sandy beach. He couldn't imagine her looking more gorgeous than she did now, in a bright sundress and barefooted.   
  
"Sirius..."  
  
"Hmmm?"

"Do we have to go back?"   
  
Sirius laughed, he swore that since the marriage he felt at least ten years younger, "I have a feeling that we should go back to the children sometime..."  
  
"I suppose you're right. But that was something I wanted to talk to you about," her tone turned a bit more serious.   
  
"Something about the children?" Sirius clarified.   
  
"Mmm-hmmm..." Elizabeth kicked at the sand as they continued to stroll down the beach.   
  
"What is there to talk about?"

"Well.... I just want you to be prepared."   
  
"What do I need to be prepared for? True, William and I aren't on the best of terms, but that is getting better and Willow adores me. There's nothing to worry about."   
  
Elizabeth rolled her eyes at her new husband, "Sirius, you have some surprises in store for you. Your relationship with William is very upfront, I wouldn't worry about that, just keep trying and the two of you will work out your differences. But Willow..."  
  
"She was so excited about having me for a daddy, what do I have to worry about? She's a perfect angel."   
  
"Most of the time yes, but she is still a typical four year old. I want you to be prepared for what parenting is really going to be like Sirius, temper tantrums, bad dreams, the increasingly annoying word 'no', all from your sweet little angel. Think you can handle it," she teased.  
  
"Are you saying that she's going to test me out?" Sirius almost looked hurt.

"Of course, you have always been the 'good guy' for her. As soon as she realizes that you won't let her get away with murder things will be fine."   
  
"But I don't want to be the bad guy..." Sirius looked genuinely concerned as he turned his eyes on Elizabeth imploringly.   
  
Elizabeth threw back her head and laughed, "oh Sirius, don't worry about it. You will do fine. Besides," she shot him a wicked look, "it'll be good practice in case we have anymore on the way...."

* * *

"Daddy! Did you bring Ralph back?" Lily threw herself into her father's arms.   
  
Harry laughed, realizing that he played second fiddle to a stuffed llama, "of course," he smiled as he handed the toy to his daughter, who clutched it happily to her chest. "I better get a better reward than that for bringing back Ralph in one piece." He smiled widely as his darling daughter threw her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his cheek.   
  
When Harry moved to stand up Lily caught him by the sleeve, "Daddy..."  
  
"What is it precious?"   
  
"Do you and Mummy love each other again now?" Her eyes were very serious in her six year old face.   
  
Harry took his daughter's face between his hands, "of course, and we're working on loving each other even more," he pressed a kiss to her forehead as he stood up, rubbing his knees from the abuse kneeling on the hard floor had done to them.   
  
"Are you two coming to dinner or not?" Ginny asked as she appeared in the doorway, "because I'm not asking again, so you're either eating with the rest of us now or you can go to bed hungry..."  
  
Harry gave Lily a comically upset look, "do you think she would really let us go to bed hungry?"   
  
Lily hugged Ralph close as she shook her head, "not me, but you maybe..." she shrieked with laughter as Harry swung her up off the ground, tickling her unmercifully.   
  
He shared a look with his wife as he carried their squealing daughter into the kitchen. They still had a long way to go, but they were definitely making progress.

* * *

"So, are we all still on for the concert tonight?" Dierna whispered to Kamen across the dinner table when Remus got up.   
  
Kamen nodded, "Celeste and Nick are going to meet us there, along with some of the other guys from school."  
  
"How are we getting out of here?" Dierna stood up as Remus came back, "I'm going to go read for awhile," she said as she stretched her back, "Lupin, would it be ok if I took something to knock me out, I'm not feeling that great and I think I really need to sleep tonight."   
  
Remus gave his consent, "of course, just let me know exactly what it is that you're going to take."   
  
Kamen immediately followed Dierna out of the room, "we wait until he's putting Willow to bed, and make our break for town. It's only a ten minute walk so we'll be at the concert before he even knows we're gone."   
  
"And what happens when our esteemed head of house realizes that five of the 'children' he is supposed to be watching are gone?"   
  
Kamen shrugged, "better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission."

* * *

"Alright Sev, out with it."   
  
"Excuse me?"   
  
Morgan rolled her eyes, "I'm wearing a dress that borders on scandalous and you have barely looked at me all night, something is bothering you."   
  
Severus sighed and took a long draught from his wine glass, "I was just hoping that the children weren't giving Remus too much trouble."

Morgan's gaze softened, "you were worrying about Dierna."   
  
Severus grimaced as he realized how transparent he was, "yes, I was. I do not know if I can stand going home when she hates me."   
  
"Oh Sev..." Morgan lay her hand on top of her husband's "she doesn't hate you. I guarantee that by the time we go home she'll be completely ready to forgive and forget. Although we could have saved this whole confrontation thing if you'd come to me first..."  
  
"What do you mean?" Severus was honestly at a loss for where this was going.   
  
Morgan shrugged as she took a sip of wine, "from what I understand, what really upset her was when you accused her of not being a virgin."   
  
Severus felt his mouth drop open, "you mean, you know..."  
  
Morgan gave her husband an exasperated look, "mother's can tell Sev, it's in their eyes."

Severus narrowed his eyes, "so, out of our children, which ones have..." he let the sentence hang.   
  
Morgan studied her husband for a moment, "that's not for me to tell you. I was approached, in strictest confidence, on both accounts. It's over and done with, and since one of them is getting married in less than a week I have no qualms over it. And the other one will make better decisions in the future."   
  
"That doesn't make me feel better," Severus said as he drained the contents of his glass. "Which one of our darling children is the 'other one', I'm assuming Kamen..."  
  
"Well you assume wrong," Morgan gave her husband a small smile, "you can be awfully dense sometimes Severus."   
  
Severus frowned, "well, since I can't imagine my little Nimue doing anything I would question," one look at his wife confirmed his assessment, "than that leaves Serena." His sighed, "I feel like we've failed..."  
  
"Severus, don't you dare think that," Morgan squeezed his hand, "remember, Viviane is a grown woman, and we no longer can control her life. And Serena... well, she knows how I feel about her decision, it's been dealt with, and there's nothing more to it."   
  
"I can't believe you knew about this and didn't tell me," Severus' expression grew dark.   
  
"I had my reasons Sev," Morgan told him calmly, "the last thing your daughter needed, when she came to me crying, knowing that she hadn't made the wisest decision, was your explosive temper getting involved."

Severus continued to scowl at his wife.   
  
"Please Sev, can we drop this now. I don't want this to ruin the rest of our vacation, I was thinking," she blushed a deep crimson, "maybe we could play a bit tonight..."  
  
Severus sighed and brought his wife's hand to his lips, "of course darling, perhaps we could walk back to the hotel, I need some time to clear my mind." 

* * *

"Coast is clear," William said as he joined the rest of the group, "let's get out of here."   
  
After a quick look to make sure the hallway really was deserted Kamen, William, Serena, Dierna, and Sophia made their way across it, down the stairs and out the front door. They quickly made their way down the snowy streets of Hogsmeade towards the Three Broomsticks, which was already packed for the night's concert.   
  
"Nick!" Dierna shouted as they got near, getting the attention of their friend, she fought her way through the growing crowd towards him, "Hey, you already found Celeste, lets get inside."   
  
Celeste gave Kamen a nervous smile, "I'm not sure if I should be here, I'm not very good at the whole 'bad girl' thing, and I feel a bit overdressed..." she trailed off as Dierna, Sophia, and Serena shed their cloaks, somehow the three girls had come up with matching black leather pants and glittery tops. Celeste looked down uncertainly at her own jeans and sweater.   
  
"You look gorgeous," Kamen assured her as he dropped a kiss on her cheek, "besides, don't worry about playing the 'bad girl' for me, I do enough of the rebellious thing on my own to fully appreciate an angel like you," he gave her a lopsided grin and a wink. "So tell me the truth, do you really like Mystic Acid, or you just come because I asked you to come?"   
  
Celeste smiled and blushed, she was thankful for the dark lighting in the Three Broomsticks tonight. She shot a glance up towards the stage that had been set up on one side, and most of the tables and been cleared out for the concert, "I really do listen to them, but I would never have come to the concert if you hadn't asked me."   
  
"Well, what do you think of all this?" William leaned down to ask Sophia as the band finished setting up.   
  
Sophia's eyes grew wide, "I'm not sure, I have definitely never worn anything like this before," she had been more than a little skeptical about the leather pants, "but it's also exciting."   
  
"I think you'll enjoy it," William smiled at her, noticing for the first time just how pretty the Greek girl was, maybe it was the Mediterranean eyes, or that flowing red hair... he pushed the thought to the back of his mind for the time being.

* * *

"Severus," Morgan held the flower he had bought for her to her nose, "I'm so happy we're here."  
  
"Paris is beautiful this time of year."   
  
"That's not what I meant," Morgan looked down at the ground, "I mean 'here', as in, our relationship. That even after all the stuff we've been through, I still love as much, no... more, than the day I married you."   
  
Severus pulled her into his arms and kissed her roughly as they reached the hotel. He kept an arm snuggly around her waist as they climbed the stairs to their room. "Get ready for bed," Severus told his wife, smiling as he looked down at her, and ran a hand over her soft cheek.   
  
Morgan gave him a quick kiss as she slipped into the bathroom, emerging a few minutes later wearing only a silk green robe, loosely tied around her waist, "are you ready for me Professor?" she said with an impish smile.   
  
"I'm pretty sure I know how to deal with you Mrs. Snape," Severus assured her as he stretched a black silk scarf between his hands.


	55. Chapter 55

The concert was in full swing by ten o'clock. Serena managed to make her way onstage at one point to grind with the lead singer of Mystic Acid, and even managed to steal a kiss before she rejoined her friends on the floor.  
  
"What do you think now?" William shouted over the noise.   
  
"I love it!" Sophia grinned back at him as he pulled her close to dance as the music picked up.   
  
"Buy me a drink," Dierna demanded as she pulled Nick over to the bar.   
  
"Whatever you say, oh demanding one," Nick acquiesced good naturedly.   
  
"So, when are you going to make your move?"   
  
"Excuse me?" Nick looked at his friend incredulously.   
  
Dierna rolled her eyes, "you know, with the girl you have a crush on... I want to see you with someone."   
  
"And I want to see you home right now young lady," Remus laid a heavy hand on Dierna's shoulder and spun her around to face him. "Where are the rest of them?"  
  
Dierna paled by several shades and nodded her head to the crowded area in front of the stage.  
  
"I'll be right back," Remus said darkly, "don't move from this spot."   
  
Dierna clutched Nick's hand as she waited for Remus to return, "We're in sooo much trouble..." she murmured.   
  
Remus returned moments later, with the rest of his charges, plus Celeste in tow, "Miss Markham, I was not under the impression that students who remained at Hogwarts over the holidays were allowed to leave the school."

"I'll see her back Professor," Nick inserted before Celeste could answer, dragging her out with him, wanting to get away from any ugly scenes that might follow.   
  
It was a rather subdued group that followed a very irate Remus back to the Snape residence. He ushered them inside and barely refrained from slamming the door shut. He was responsible for these children, and he was furious right now. They had been warned about the increasing threat the dark forces were becoming, and yet they had gone off, by themselves, at night. He tried not to think of what could have happened to them.   
  
"What the hell are you wearing?" he decided to forgo his initial concern at the moment.   
  
The three girls turned pink, their leather pants and skimpy tops didn't leave much to the imagination.   
  
"I can't imagine that your parents would approve. Nor would they have approved of your being at that concert tonight," he continued, getting into the pace of his lecture, "and I would like to remind you that they gave me permission to deal with you as I see fit. And that does include you Sophia!" he kept on as the novice tried to interrupt him, "don't you dare try to give me any of your 'women don't have to listen to men' ideals, I am in charge here."   
  
"We're sorry Lupin," Serena was the first to try and appease him, "we didn't think that..."  
  
"You're damn right you didn't think. I want all of you in bed now! Even you Dierna, no late night wanderings for you tonight."   
  
"Yes sir," Dierna quickly agreed. She had never seen her head of house this upset before, and she decided that in this state he could probably rival her dad on the 'scary when angry' scale.   
  
"Upstairs now!"   
  
There was a scurry as the five teenagers made a dash for the stairs, none of them wanted to provoke Remus any further.   
  
"I think you handled that very well Remus," Minerva remarked as she joined her colleague in the entryway.   
  
Remus ran a hand over his face, "thanks for coming on such short notice, I couldn't leave Willow here on her own."   
  
"Not at all. But if you don't need anything else tonight I think I'll be on my way."   
  
"Sure you won't stay for a cup of tea Minerva? It's the least I can do after disturbing your night."   
  
Minerva seemed to consider it for a moment before agreeing, "I would like that Remus. By the way, you'll make an excellent father. I hope your priestess fully appreciates that. That little display would probably even have Severus impressed."   
  
Remus gave a low chuckle, "good to know that I can play the strict father figure when I need to. How are the boys?"   
  
Minerva smiled as they headed into the kitchen, "fine, just fine. Edward and his wife are moving to Austria in a few months. Henry just accepted a job teaching in America. And all the grandchildren are growing up so fast..."  
  
Remus and Minerva talked companionably for awhile over their tea. The werewolf had a great amount of respect for the headmistress, and she was a wonderful conversationalist when she was in the right mood.   
  
"Remus?"   
  
Remus turned around and frowned to see Dierna standing in the doorway, "I said no nighttime wanderings, do not make me escort you back up to bed."   
  
"I'm sorry, but Willow had a bad dream and woke up crying, it didn't wake anyone else up, but I thought maybe you should come up..."  
  
"Of course," Remus stood up and started to usher Dierna back upstairs.   
  
"One moment Remus," Minerva said as she set her mug aside, "I would like a word with Adelaide if you don't mind."   
  
Remus nodded and headed upstairs by himself.   
  
"Yes Professor McGonagall?" Dierna looked to the headmistress expectantly.   
  
"Sit down Adelaide," Minerva waited while the girl took a seat, "I was wondering if you have given any thought to your future."   
  
"Ma'am?"   
  
Minerva looked over her spectacles at the girl, "you're disciplinary record has not been very good this year, I would hate to see that get in the way of a student as talented as you are. Come next year you could have any number of research groups, potions based ones in particular, knocking at your door, if your school record is relatively clean that is."   
  
Dierna smiled, "point taken Headmistress. I'll try to stay out of too much trouble."   
  
"Good," Minerva stood up, "now then, it is late and I must be going, and you had better get yourself back upstairs before we are treated to another display of Professor Lupin's temper," she added dryly.

* * *

"She's been sleeping for hours now."   
  
"Good, she needs it," Sianna sighed as she took a seat, "its time she went home Kalliope, I've seen what I need to."   
  
"Might I ask what it is you see in her?"   
  
Sianna gave the other priestess a half smile, "the same thing as you. She will make a powerful seer once she is fully trained. Her place is among us, she should be a priestess."   
  
"That might prove difficult, her parents..."  
  
"Won't want her to leave, I understand that. But we must work something out. Every year we seem to get farther and farther away from the tangible world here in Avalon. You have faired better in Greece, more people still cling to the ancient ways there, they still respect the rites of the goddess. We need someone to restore Avalon to its former glory."

"And you believe that Nimue is the key?"   
  
"Latis certainly did," Sianna furrowed her brow, "but she needs to be trained... if only we could be certain her parents will agree."   
  
Kalliope smiled, "I'll let you discuss that with them, that is one storm I do not want to be caught in the middle of. But, as we are agreed on what needs to happen I think we should both find our beds. The child and I will leave tomorrow, but we will be in touch, this isn't over yet."   
  
"Goddess willing it will be over soon though, before things go too far."   
  
"Goddess willing, and for all of our sakes. The season of death is already upon us, how many will we lose before the spring?"   
  
Sianna did not answer, but both women were thinking the same thing. If things continued along this line, the spring they were hoping for might never come again.

* * *

Viviane paced nervously, waiting for Stefan to return. "It's been too long," she muttered to herself, "too long, I should go after him... what if something happened?"   
  
She continued to pace and kept up her one-sided conversation for another twenty minutes before she reached for the portkey that would take her to where Stefan was, maybe she could grab him and get them both out without any further incident. But just as she was about to curl her fingers around the bottle Stefan suddenly appeared, slumping to the floor as he dropped his own portkey.   
  
"Sweet Circe Stefan, what happened to you?" she gasped as she knelt next to him on the floor.   
  
"Malfoy... furious..." Stefan managed to get out, "going to attack... don't know when... or where... but soon."   
  
"You need to get in bed now," Viviane commanded as she helped Stefan to his feet, mentally going through the lists of all the healing potions they had on supply, he looked like he had been hit with a train.   
  
"No... have to report first..."  
  
"Dammit Stefan do what I tell you, or you're not going to make it into next week! You can't keep going like this..."  
  
"I'll do what I have to... to stop Malfoy," Stefan hissed before he collapsed.

* * *

"Is there a reason we're the only ones eating breakfast this morning Willow?" Remus asked the little girl across the table from him.   
  
"They don't want to eat with you."   
  
Remus' eyebrows shot up, "and why is that?" he felt vaguely guilty about pumping the four year old for information.   
  
Willow shook her head vigorously, "I can't tell you."   
  
"Why not?"   
  
"'Cause last time I said one of the words they used I had to stand in the corner for five minutes, Mama wasn't happy..."  
  
Remus nearly choked on his tea as he fought back a wave of laughter, he envied Sirius. He was tempted to keep this little one for himself, "I guess they're not happy with me for being the bad guy last night huh?"   
  
Willow nodded, giving the werewolf a sympathetic look, "they won't let me be with them either, they said I'm too little." She pouted as she played with her milk glass.   
  
Remus hid his smile as he took another sip of his tea, "so Miss Willow, it appears that the two of us are being exiled. What shall we do today?"   
  
Willow's face instantly brightened, "will you read to me out of my book?"   
  
"Of course," Remus smiled as Willow was instantly bolted out of her chair, "finish your breakfast first, and then we'll read out of your book," he told her.

* * *

"Sev?"   
  
"Hmmm?" Severus looked down at his wife. He was sitting on the bed, with her sprawled across his lap, getting her back rubbed.   
  
"Do we have to go out again tonight?"   
  
"Of course not, we will do whatever you like. Are you feeling alright love?"   
  
"Mmmm..." Morgan relaxed further as Severus' sure hands kneaded her back, "just tired. And I just want to be with you today, no distractions, just you."   
  
"It's still early; did you want to do something this afternoon, or just lay around all day?"   
  
Morgan rolled over and looked up at her husband, "take me to the Louvre for a couple of hours?"   
  
"With pleasure," he brought her fingertips up to his lips.   
  
Morgan closed her eyes and sighed, a flicker of pain crossed her face. "I wish..."  
  
"Don't Morgan," Severus knew exactly what she was thinking, "dwelling on it will not make it better."   
  
"But I can't get it out of my mind, sometimes I'm fine, and then sometimes the bitterness just seems to consume me," her hand drifted down to her midsection as she bit her lip.   
  
"I think we'll skip the Louvre today love. All I want to do this afternoon is hold you close and tell you how much I love you."   
  
Morgan crawled up to rest her head on her husband's shoulder, "thank you Sev, but I do want to get out for awhile."   
  
"Are you sure?"   
  
Morgan buried her face against him, "yes," was her muffled reply.   
  
Severus wrapped his arms around her and held her for a long time, neither of them talking, just taking comfort from each other's touch.

* * *

Kalliope smiled as she peeked into the living room. Remus was sound asleep, with Willow napping in his lap, a book lying open on the seat next to them. She tiptoed across the room and gently kissed Remus until he woke up.   
  
Remus' eyes flew open and he smiled, "welcome back priestess."   
  
Kalliope settled down next to him, "where are the rest of the children?"   
  
"We're being shunned at the moment."   
  
Kalliope's eyebrows flew up, "what did you do to deserve that?"   
  
Remus filled her in on the details of the previous night and watched as Kalliope's face darkened. He got the distinct impression that Sophia was going to feel the sharp side of her guardian's tongue in the very near future.   
  
"When I get done with that girl..." Kalliope sighed.   
  
"Have you seen my little sister Lupin, I have something from a certain Mr. MacNeill that I think she'll be wanting." Viviane leaned in the doorway.   
  
Remus started to get up to greet his former student, but stopped, not wanting to disturb Willow. "I didn't know you were getting back today Miss Snape, or should I say the future Mrs. Bennet?"   
  
Viviane smiled, "I like the last one much better, just a few more days now..."  
  
"I'll leave you ladies to chat for awhile," Remus carefully stood up, lifting Willow with him, "I'm going to put this one in bed."

Viviane smiled at the priestess, "you'll have to forgive me for having marriage on the brain, its one of the side effects of an impending marriage, but I truly hope that you do marry Lupin. I've only heard wonderful things about you from my mother and Remus needs someone in his life."   
  
Kalliope smiled at the younger woman, "I don't mind at all. I love Remus deeply, and will be very happy to be his wife, it certainly took him long enough to ask me," she thought back to the time years ago when Remus had been with her in Greece. She would have gladly married him then.   
  
"I know Stefan sent something for me," Dierna bounded into the room and tackled her older sister.   
  
"Oiy! Get off of me," Viviane growled, as she tried to dislodge her sister, "if you don't let me up you're not getting it."   
  
Dierna instantly hopped back up and pulled her sister off the ground, "come on Viv, please..." she pouted.   
  
Viviane laughed at her sister's puppy dog face, "fine, have it. But just so you know, he charmed it so that it can't be opened until Christmas."   
  
Dierna groaned but clutched the small package to her chest anyways. Anything from her beloved Stefan was exciting, even if she had no idea what it was.   
  
"Viviane," Kamen joined them and gave his sister a hug and a kiss, flashing her a smile, "would my favorite older sister, who technically counts as adult supervision, like to take me to Diagon Alley. It's rather important..."  
  
"Mmmm-hmmmm.... I bet it is Kamen," she looked him up and down then shrugged, "sure, not my problem if you get yourself in trouble. Wanna come kid?" she asked Dierna.   
  
"Nope," Dierna shook her head, "I have a charm to try and undo," she held up the package from Stefan, "and a certain professor to work my own charm on if I'm going to go out tonight."   
  
"Don't count on it," Remus said as he joined the group, "you're going nowhere tonight."   
  
Dierna tried her puppy dog eyes again, "Please Lupin..."

"No. And please Kamen, stay out of trouble in Diagon Alley."   
  
"Hey, it's me! I always stay out of trouble," Kamen insisted.

* * *

"What do you think Albus? I hardly know what to do anymore..."  
  
"I believe its time to reinstate the Order," the portrait of Albus Dumbledore replied as he reached for a lemon drop from the bowl on the desk in the painting, "between yourself and Arthur it should come together nicely Minerva."   
  
"Why now?" the headmistress asked.

"I had a rather pleasant conversation with Eric this morning, we agreed it was best."   
  
Minerva sniffed, "I don't know why you gave that sorry excuse to the wizarding world the other portrait of you."   
  
"Because he is an excellent conversationalist, and a worthy ally. I believe that we will truly need his help in the months to come. We are facing war Minerva; we need all the allies we can get, do you realize that the Grigorian brotherhood has even been started again? We may receive help from them..."   
  
"But if it can be stopped..."  
  
"It will not. Sources indicate that an attack will be made, one that will set this off like a match to a powder keg. I would suggest bringing the Order here; I feel it will be necessary for the safety of the students."

"Whatever you say Albus, like I told you, I'm not sure where to go from here."   
  
"Between the Order and Eric I think we may have a chance." 

* * *

"I'll meet you in a couple of hours Viv; I have some business to attend to."   
  
Viviane raised an eyebrow but only shrugged her shoulders and left her brother to take care of himself, she wasn't his keeper.   
  
Kamen ducked into a dingy pub and slid into a booth across from a man a few years older than him, with coffee colored skin and ebony hair, whom he had met at the concert the night before. "I want to know more."   
  
The wizard across from him nodded, "these are dark times..."  
  
"And likely to get darker," Kamen said as he threw back a shot with a practiced twist of his wrist.   
  
"So are you in? And do you realize what your loyalty entails?"   
  
Kamen nodded and pushed a bag across the table that clinked with the sound of coins knocking together, "I'm in. The raven flies at midnight."   
  
"And leaves a shadow across the moon."


	56. Chapter 56

"Mum!" Nimue threw herself into Morgan's arms the minute she came in the door the next morning, "I missed you," she whispered burying her face in her mother's shoulder.   
  
"I missed you too sweetie. Let's have a cup of tea and you can tell me everything that happened while you were in Avalon," Morgan ran a hand over her youngest daughter's cheek and led her towards the kitchen.   
  
"Anything I need to know about?" Severus asked Remus.   
  
"Well..."  
  
"What did they do?" Severus' voice picked up an icy tone.   
  
By the time Remus finished recounting the events of the night of the concert Severus was scowling darkly, "I think I'm going to have a little chat with my children now," Severus growled, "but before I forget, Morgan was wondering if you, along with the priestess and her ward, would like to spend Christmas here with us."   
  
"Thank you but no, Kalliope and I need to spend some time figuring out exactly where our relationship stands. But I appreciate the offer Severus."   
  
"As you wish, and as I said it was Morgan's idea."   
  
Remus took his colleague's hand, "I think we'll go ahead and get out of your way so that you can enjoy your holiday, I'll just go and collect my two ladies and we'll be on our way."   
  
"And I am going to find my children," Severus murmured to himself as he stalked off, "if I do not put them into an early grave they are likely to put me into one."   
  
He checked bedrooms first with no luck, then the library, living room and kitchen, finding no trace of his children. He stalked to another portion of the house, cursing its size and the troublesome nature of children in general. He finally found what he was looking for in the large sunroom in the back of the house, and was not happy, "how many times have I told them not to..." he sighed. He had taught Kamen and the twins how to fence, but always insisted on safety. Now, before him were Dierna and Serena, sparing with one another, wearing no protective gear. He didn't care that they were only using practice foils; they could still injure each other. And he certainly didn't like that fact that Kamen and William were egging the two girls on, placing down bets on who would disarm the other one first.   
  
He swept back out of the room, returning moments later with his own practice foil, if they insisted on defying him he would at least make sure they learned their lesson, "How many times have I told you that if you are going to spar each other you must wear the mask, jacket, gloves, and other protective gear that I have supplied for you?!" He motioned Dierna back and faced Serena, who showed more skill with the blade. "Well? I'm waiting for an answer."   
  
"But Dad..."  
  
"You know the rules girls," he advanced on Serena, putting her on the defensive, "if you spar, you do it safely," he slipped through her guard, taking two points, and knowing that they would bruise, before disarming her.   
  
"Dierna, you know the rules too," he glared at his red haired daughter, knowing she was ready to put her foil aside and give in.   
  
"Dad, neither of us got hurt, it's not a big deal," Dierna whined.   
  
"Yes it is," he disarmed her much more quickly than he had Serena, he caught her arm in a vice like grip and spun her around, bringing his own foil down across her backside.   
  
"Put them away," he said handing his blade to Serena, "and you," he said relaxing his grip on Dierna's arm only slightly, "are going to come with me, we need to talk."   
  
"What did I do?" Dierna asked, noticing that the boys had already slipped out and she was left alone with her very angry looking father.   
  
Severus caught her chin in his hand, and tilted her face up so that he could press a kiss to her forehead, "We are going to discuss your little adventure into Hogsmeade for that concert..."  
  
"But Dad, I wasn't the only one who..."  
  
"As I was saying... we will discuss that later, I just wanted to give you fair warning that I already know about it. But for now, I just wanted to make sure that you were alright."   
  
"I'm fine Dad."   
  
"Are you really?"   
  
Dierna worried her bottom lip between her teeth; she had thought a lot the last few days about how he had struck her. She had been worried that she would still flinch from his touch, but she found that it hardly mattered now. "I'm fine Dad," she reasserted, wrapping her arms around his waist.   
  
"I thought you would hate me forever," Severus murmured against her hair as he held her close.   
  
Dierna broke away and gave him an impish smile that strongly resembled her mother's "I could never hate you forever, who would I run to when Mum goes on the warpath?"   
  
Severus crossed his arms over his chest, "and who is going to protect you from me?"   
  
Dierna bit back a giggle, the note Stefan had attached to his gift for her and left her in an amazingly good mood, "no one silly. When I was little you were my hero, and you still are," she rose up on her toes to brush a kiss across his cheek before dashing out of the room. She intended to be as far away from her father as possible when he remembered that he was still furious about the concert excursion.

* * *

"I have become quite attached to Mr. Bennet," Morgan smiled at Viviane as she wrapped her arm around Nimue's shoulders, "he has spent a good deal of time with me since you've been on assignment."   
  
Viviane sighed and wrapped her arms around her mug of tea, "three more days..."  
  
"And my baby girl is going to be married, I'm not sure if I can stand it," Morgan wiped away a tear.  
  
Viviane rolled her eyes, "Mum... it's not the end of the world."   
  
"I know," Morgan sniffed, "it's the beginning of a whole new one for you. You're going to go off, and have life all of your own. Even though you've lived on your own for a year now I still think of you as my baby girl, and now that's all going to change..."   
  
Nimue snuggled against her mother, "you'll still have me Mum, I don't know if I'll ever get married, and if I do it will be years and years away." At thirteen Nimue didn't understand why so many of the girls at school were obsessed with the opposite sex, they just seemed like more trouble than they were worth. Maybe she would become a priestess, then she wouldn't have to worry about getting married. Men were so intimidating anyways, if she was a priestess she maybe she wouldn't have to deal with them...

* * *

Dierna lay on the floor of her father's study paging through a book he had brought her from Paris. She, along with Serena, Kamen, and William, had been rounded up and endured the storm that was Severus' temper over their unapproved trip into town. The other three had retreated after the severe tongue lashing to play a loud game of exploding snap, but she had sought some peace and quite. The only sound was the scratch of her father's quill as he worked on some papers at his desk.   
  
"Hey sweetie," she looked up as Willow came into the room, dragging her blanket behind her.   
  
"Story?" the little girl asked.   
  
Dierna looked longingly at her new book, "maybe later..."  
  
"No, now!" Willow stomped her foot, "I want a damn story now!"   
  
"Excuse me young lady, what did you just say?" Severus looked up from his papers to send a warning look at the four year old.   
  
"I want a damn story!" she pouted.   
  
Severus came around his desk and knelt down, motioning for Willow to come to him, "I do not like that kind of language Willow, it is not very lady like." He fought hard to remain stern, wanting to smile at the adorable little girl. She reminded him of what his own children had been like at that age, and he knew that she probably didn't understand what she was saying. But Elizabeth wouldn't appreciate it if he sent her daughter back to her speaking like that.   
  
"Will said it..." Willow clutched her blanket tighter.   
  
"I do not care if your brother said it," Severus looked her in the eye; "I do not want to hear it from you again. I have washed out naughty mouths with soap before and I have no problems doing it again if I have to. So no more of that language, understood?"   
  
"He's serious," Dierna inserted, not looking up from her book, "and the soap he uses is incredibly disgusting, I swear you can taste it for hours afterwards..."  
  
Willow's eyes grew large, "I'll be good," she solemnly promised.   
  
Severus smiled at her, "I am sure you will be. Dierna, read her a story if she wants one."   
  
"But Dad, I'm reading my own book now!"   
  
"And it will still be there after you read her a story," Severus said as he stood back up; "entertain her for awhile."   
  
Dierna mumbled something under her breath as she stood up and laid her own book on an end table and reached for a book of fairy tales. P  
  
Severus' head shot up, "I heard that young lady, and I do not care if it was in another language, I hear that phrase from you again and you'll be the one with a soapy mouth."   
  
Dierna glared at him, and waited until he bent back over his papers. She caught Willow's eye, and hiding it behind her hand, stuck her tongue out in her father's direction, causing the little girl to giggle.   
  
"Read me a story now?" Willow asked.   
  
"I guess so," Dierna sighed as she sent a longing glance at her own book, "which one do you want me to read?"

* * *

"Are you sure this is the best thing to do?" William asked Kamen.   
  
Kamen nodded, "everything he said made sense. I'm joining, you can too if you want, but it's your decision."   
  
William paced across the floor, "It's dangerous."   
  
"Lots of things are dangerous now."   
  
William stopped his pacing, "do you realize how serious this is Kamen? This isn't a game."   
  
"I know that!"   
  
"Are you sure," William looked his best friend in the eye, "we have always done everything together, and this is not going to be an exception. But, I want to make sure that we both understand completely what we are getting ourselves into."   
  
"I understand, and I'm ready to start accepting responsibility for it."   
  
"Then I'm in, I'll have the initiation fee for Aidan next week. The raven flies at midnight."   
  
"And leaves a shadow across the moon."

* * *

"Happy Christmas Eve!" Willow bounced on William's chest waking him up.   
  
"Willow, do you know what time it is?" William groaned.   
  
"Christmas Eve?"   
  
William laughed and let his little sister under the covers to snuggle with him, "it's only 5:30 silly one, time for more sleep."   
  
"Are Mama and Daddy coming back today?"   
  
William cringed at how she referred to Sirius as 'Daddy', "yes they are."   
  
"Then get up, we have to be ready for them!"   
  
"Shhhh... you'll wake up Kamen if you're not quiet."  
  
"Sorry," Willow giggled and clamped her hands over her mouth.   
  
"Just go back to sleep Willow."   
  
"Will... you should love Sirius, he wants to be our daddy, and I think you need one," she rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.   
  
William adjusted her so that she wasn't cutting off the circulation to his arm, "and why is that?"   
  
"'Cause Mama says you were happier when our other daddy was here, so you'll be happy if Sirius can be our new daddy. I want a daddy, and you should too."   
  
William frowned into the darkness, "I'll think about liking him, but just because you want me to Willow."   
  
"Good."

* * *

"I had forgotten how much giggling four girls can do," Severus frowned in the direction of the living room.   
  
Morgan smiled at him, "isn't it nice that we're all here for Christmas together, it's the last time it will be just this little family, next year there will also be Colin and maybe a grandchild..."  
  
"I'm not ready for that yet."   
  
"But it would be nice to have a little one in the house again, even if I do have to wait for grandchildren," Morgan managed a smile for her husband when he squeezed her hand. She couldn't help thinking of how adorable Willow was, and how excited she had been when Elizabeth and Sirius returned from their honeymoon to collect their children. She missed having little ones in the house.   
  
"You're not old enough for grandchildren yet Mrs. Snape."   
  
Morgan's eyes lit with a sparkle of mischief, "do you think I'm still beautiful Sev?"   
  
"Yes."   
  
"And will you love me forever?"   
  
"Yes."   
  
She smiled sweetly at him, "will you tell me what you got me for Christmas?"   
  
Severus caught himself just in time, and shot his wife an amused look, "No, but nice try."   
  
Morgan pouted, "But I want to know."   
  
"And you can wait until tomorrow. Honestly Morgan, you are worse than the children," Severus shook his head at her in mock exasperation.   
  
"Mum, we need you for a minute," Serena appeared, holding Bastet, who was purring loudly, "Viv is trying on her wedding dress for us; she wants you to see it."   
  
Morgan brushed her husband's cheek with a kiss as she left the room.   
  
"Why do you insist on dragging that mangy ball of fur around the house?" Severus glared at the black cat nestled in Serena's arms.   
  
"She's not mangy! She's adorable and sweet," Serena defended her pet as she scratched the cat under her chin, causing her to purr louder. "You just don't like cats," she accused her father.   
  
"No I do not," he agreed, "I wish you would keep her up in your room."   
  
"She needs space Dad! I can't just lock her up in a room that would be cruel."   
  
"Well just keep her away from me, she knocked over several stacks of papers in my study earlier, I was not happy about that."   
  
Serena rolled her eyes, "she didn't hurt anything."   
  
"Hmmm... well keep her out of my study or I may decide to make her into a rug."

* * *

"So, where are we going?" Sophia was bouncing along out of excitement as she practically ran circles around Remus and Kalliope.   
  
Remus smiled at her exuberance, "back to Hogwarts for a couple of days, and then to your temple."   
  
"Are you two going to get married when we go to the temple?"  
  
Kalliope shot her ward a warning look, "what did we talk about?"   
  
Sophia rolled her eyes, "I know, I know, I need to mind my own business, and stay out of matters that don't concern me..."  
  
"Exactly," Kalliope gave her a meaningful look, "now see if you can't remember that."   
  
Sophia snorted, "I still think you two need to hurry up and get married..." she muttered under her breath.   
  
Kalliope smiled at Remus, "I think we're being plotted against," she whispered in his ear.   
  
"I don't mind that kind of plotting," he whispered back, nodding in Sophia's direction, "I've been doing some planning of my own priestess."   
  
"Oh really, and what would that be?"   
  
Remus smiled as he snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her close, "well... most of the plans involve me sweeping you off your feet and convincing you to elope, and then there are the children..."  
  
"The children?"   
  
"Yes, we'll have several, I want a real family."   
  
Kalliope threw back her head and laughed, "I can't believe the two of you, will you ever give me any peace?"   
  
"No," Sophia and Remus answered together.

* * *

"What are you doing up?"   
  
"Serena was talking in her sleep again, and I was having troubles sleeping anyways. You?"   
  
Severus sighed, "Your mother just about pushed me out of bed, I do not understand how someone that small can take up so much room." He grabbed a glass bottle out of a cabinet sat down across the kitchen table from his daughter, pouring himself a measure of the amber colored brandy. He raised an eyebrow when Dierna pushed her glass towards him, but shrugged and poured some for her too, "just don't tell your mother," he commanded.   
  
"My lips are sealed," Dierna smiled at him.   
  
They sat in silence for awhile before Severus frowned at the clock, "you should try and get some sleep, the sun will be up in a couple of hours."   
  
Dierna shrugged as she finished her drink, "I guess... although I might try the couch for awhile if Serena's still too loud."   
  
"Go rest bright eyes," Severus tried to shoo her out of the kitchen.   
  
"No, I'm not tired."   
  
"You're incorrigible."   
  
Dierna grinned, "Your point?"   
  
"Goodnight Adelaide," he gave her a gentle push in the direction of the stairs, amazed that even though he had hit her, they could act this normal. He was finally starting to believe that maybe she had forgiven him.   
  
Dierna rolled her eyes, the use of her given name meant she was starting to push him too far, "but Dad..." she stopped when she saw the look she was getting and sighed, "fine I'm going..."

* * *

"Happy Christmas!" Willow bounded into her mother and Sirius' room at 5:00 and pounced on her new father. "Come on get up!!! It's Christmas!" She bounced on the bed, doing her best to get them up.   
  
"Do you realize what time it is you little munchkin?" Sirius growled as he grabbed his stepdaughter and hugged her close.   
  
Willow giggled, "Time to get up!" She wriggled out of his grasp and continued to bounce on the bed.   
  
"What's the rule about jumping on furniture?" Elizabeth said without opening her eyes.   
  
"Don't do it," Willow ceased her jumping and plopped down on top of Sirius, "please get up now!" she begged.   
  
"Why are you so eager princess? You aren't excited about getting presents are you?" Sirius found that being attacked by a four year old first thing in the morning was just about the best thing that had ever happened to him.   
  
"Yes, presents! Get up now!"

* * *

authoress' note:  
aison - thank you for the wonderful review!

(actually... year one is already complete and year two is well on the way... so there will be more, its just a matter of how much I can re-edit and get uploaded here everyday in between work and the rest of life)


	57. Chapter 57

"I'm glad they're old enough to appreciate sleeping in." Severus murmured against his wife's hair as he held her close, "it gives me more time with you..." He had been more than pleased with the gorgeous leather bound, gold leafed set of Italian potions books she had given him. But had been even more pleased when Morgan presented herself to him as a Christmas present earlier that morning, wearing little more than a large green bow tied around herself. It had been a decidedly pleasant present to unwrap.   
  
"Mmmm... I like time with you too," she purred, "but don't you think its time we joined the children, they're probably up by now."   
  
Severus growled a noncommittal response, but dislodged his wife from his arms and got up to get dressed. About an hour later he was feeling a bit more benevolent towards the world in general as he sat on the couch in the living room with his wife leaning against him, and there five children sitting around opening presents.   
  
"Hmmm... 'for Mum and the oversized bat from your three trouble makers', should we be worried? And should I assume that you made the card Kamen?" Morgan studied Kamen, Dierna, and Serena as they tried their best to look innocent.   
  
"Of course I made the card Mum, trust us, nothing to worry about. As long as you discount the fact that we did sneak out of school a couple of days to get it..." Kamen gave her a broad grin.   
  
Morgan rolled her eyes, "If it's over and done with I don't want to hear about it." She leaned against Severus, who was more than happy to let her do the unwrapping, as she tore off the plan brown paper. "Sweet Circe..." Morgan brought her hand up to her mouth as tears formed in her eyes.   
  
Inside the package was a muggle painting, a portrait of Kamen who was sitting, and looked incredibly similar to his father dressed in black, with Dierna and Serena standing behind him dressed in flowing cream colored dresses. "It is beautiful, where did you get it done?"

"We found a gallery in London that has a resident artist who does portraits," Serena supplied.   
  
Morgan wiped away her tears, "I'm going to go start breakfast," she kissed her children before heading towards the kitchen, "give me a hand Sev."   
  
Severus followed his wife, "Are you alright?"   
  
"I'm fine Sev, just trying to accept that fact that all my babies are grown up now," she smiled for him, "and you," she shook a spatula in his direction as she worked on breakfast, "spoiled the girls horribly."   
  
"What did I do?" Severus looked hurt.   
  
"Sev, honestly! Pearl necklaces for the twins?! I know how much those cost and I had to get married before I had anything that nice."   
  
"I like giving my girls nice things," Severus said as he kissed his wife, "besides, I don't see you complaining about your own necklace..."  
  
Morgan rolled her eyes as her hand went to her throat where garnets the size of her thumbnail were set in a heavy dark gold setting, this was the difference between jewelry and jewels. "I just think that there are some things that aren't quite appropriate for girls their age."   
  
"Well I can't help it if I like to make my girls happy."   
  
"Hmmm... well I'll keep that in mind for later or the next time I want something from you..."  
  
Severus raised an eyebrow as he looked down at his wife, "I'd give you the world if I could."

* * *

"Are you ready for this?" Meg teased Zach as they arrived at the Burrow. The Weasley family residence had been expanded over the years to accommodate the growing family, but was still as full of love as ever.   
  
"Should I be worried?" Zach asked.   
  
"Not at all, just be prepared to be swamped by a sea of red heads," she told him as they made their way into the house, where the Christmas celebration was already underway.   
  
"Uncle Charlie! When are you going to let me help with the dragons at school, I've read all the books on dragon handling I can get my hands on, please let me help!" Angie Weasley tugged at her uncle. "Please..."  
  
Charlie laughed, "Don't even think about it kid. If Zach or I find you anywhere near those dragons you can consider yourself done with."   
  
"Oiy, you're not giving my daughter too much trouble are you? You teachers always stand in the way of fun," Fred took Charlie's hand as he wrapped an arm around Angie's shoulders.   
  
"He's no fun Dad," the third year looked up at him, "I just want to play with the dragons..."

* * *

Dierna's hands trembled slightly as she retrieved the package Stefan had sent for her. She slowly unwrapped it and opened the box lifting out a piece of paper on the top:  
  
_"Quando sono sola sogno all'orizzonte e mancan le parole si lo so che non c'e luce in una stanza quando manca il sole se non ci sei tu con me, con me Su le finestre Mostra a tutti il mio cuore Che hai accesso Chiudi dentro me la luce che hai incontrato per strada"   
I'll be yours always, Stefan_  
  
She smiled at the words, it was part of a song that he had found last year, he said it explained how much he loved her. She was his sunlight. "I love you Stefan," she murmured as she reached into the box and withdrew a first edition copy of Jane Eyre. She lovingly ran her hand over the book; he had remembered that it was her favorite. "Come back to me Stefan, I can't wait much longer."

* * *

Viviane glanced at her calendar and took a deep breath. She crossed out the circled day, December 26, and then looked up to check her appearance in the full length mirror. Nervously she ran her hands over the skirt of her wedding dress, brushing out imaginary creases.   
  
She turned, looking at herself from all angles, making sure that her hair, done in a loose chignon was still intact, and that her dress was hanging evenly. "I can do this," she told herself, taking another deep breath, "just a few more minutes, and it'll all be over, I'll be Mrs. Bennet." She smiled at that thought.   
  
She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't hear the knock at her door. And didn't realize that anyone had joined her until her father came up behind her and laid his hands on her shoulders, "are you ready?"   
  
"I think so. Are you?"   
  
Severus sighed, "To hand you over to another man? Never. I'll always think of you as my little girl."   
  
"I'm not sure if I can do this..."  
  
"You'll be fine," Severus kissed the top of her head, "Colin is a good man and I know he will look out for you, if I doubted that at all things would never have come this far."   
  
Viviane gave him a small smile, "I think I'm ready now. Is it time?"   
  
Severus nodded, but in his mind he cursed the way time seemed to fly by. That now, he had to go downstairs and hand over his first child to another man. The thought tore at his heart.

* * *

"Where is he going to stay?" Sophia leaned close to Kalliope to ask.   
  
"In my room," Kalliope answered, without looking at her ward.   
  
Sophia smiled widely; in her mind they were as good as married.   
  
"You can wipe that smirk off your face young lady and stop jumping to conclusions," Kalliope still didn't look at the girl.   
  
Sophia wasn't at all deterred by her guardian's less then amiable demeanor, she was just happy that the relationship with Remus was looking promising. For the first time the novice found that she really wanted a family, and not just any family, but this one.   
  
Kalliope turned to Remus who was several paces behind her, "we have duties to attend to in the temple, will you be alright by yourself for awhile?"   
  
Remus nodded, "of course," he glanced up at the buildings that composed the temple. There were several out buildings which housed the priestesses and the novices of the temple, and there was the large main temple building. It was rectangular in shape, with several layers of pillars supporting the roof. In its cool, quiet interior were two rooms, one housed the cult statue of the goddess, and the inner sanctuary was where oracles were received. He figured if nothing else he could explore for awhile, it had been a long time since he had really been inside the temple.   
  
"Not to worry priestess, we'll keep him out of trouble for you," Cadmus appeared, followed by several men of his tribe, his white teeth shining against his dark beard.   
  
Kalliope narrowed her eyes slightly, "but can I trust you to stay out of trouble?"   
  
Cadmus laughed, a deep rumbling sound, "no, but I don't expect you to!"

* * *

"I wish we had done more, it was over so fast and now they're gone..." Morgan sniffed as she leaned her head against Severus' shoulder. The wedding had been incredibly short and small, with just the immediate family there. Viviane had protested against having a large ceremony and reception, saying she just wanted to get married with the family there and have it done with.   
  
"It is what she wanted darling, you know that," Severus told her gently.   
  
Morgan sighed, "I know... I just feel like it should have been a much bigger production, she is the first of them to go after all. But she did look beautiful."   
  
"Almost as beautiful as another bride I remember," Severus let a small smile play at his lips as he brushed a stray curl out of Morgan's face.   
  
Morgan snorted in response.   
  
"You don't believe me?" Severus asked her, "Perhaps I'll have to show you exactly how I feel about that other bride," he trailed a series of kisses down her neck.   
  
"Ewww..." Dierna made a face as she came into the living room, "haven't I put up with enough mushy stuff for one day? The last thing I want right now is to watch my parents snogging..."  
  
Morgan rolled her eyes, "if you don't like it then leave."   
  
Dierna raised an eyebrow, unconsciously mimicking her father's favorite gesture, "or you two could get a private room, or better yet never do that again." She smiled sweetly at the murderous look her father was giving her.   
  
"Are you quite finished?" Severus sneered.   
  
"No, I have a feeling if I stick around a little longer I'll get to irritate you even more."   
  
"Dierna, so help me, if you..."  
  
"Oh stop it you two!" Morgan interjected, "if you're going to argue go ahead and have at it, but I'm going to go for a walk. The two of you are going to drive me mad one of these days!"   
  
"You like it Mum," Dierna gave her an impish grin.  
  
"Like hell I do," Morgan rolled her eyes, "now I would appreciate it if the two of you didn't rip out each others' throats while I'm gone, I'd hate to have to clean up that mess when I get back," she gave her husband a wink and swatted her daughter on her backside as she swept out of the room.   
  
Severus crossed his arms over his chest and glared at his daughter, "are a few moments uninterrupted with your mother too much to ask for?"   
  
"What happens if I say yes?"   
  
"You are more trouble than you are worth," he reached out and ruffled her hair, earning him a dark scowl.   
  
"I hate when you do that," she spat at him.   
  
"I know you do, but it's a paternal privilege."   
  
Dierna rolled her eyes at that, "help me do a couple of potions out of the book you got me for Christmas? Please..."  
  
Severus sighed and ran a hand over his face wearily, "of course."   
  
When Morgan returned she quietly crept down the stairs to the basement, where Severus had his own personal lab. She smiled to herself as she watched her husband and daughter hovering over a steaming cauldron and consulting a large, battered book. "So much alike..." she murmured, "If they're not at each others' throats they're the best of friends..."

* * *

"What are you doing?"   
  
"Coloring?"   
  
"What are you coloring?"   
  
"A picture."   
  
Harry rolled his eyes, he had been looking for a more specific answer, "what are you coloring a picture of?" he pressed.   
  
Lily looked up, "of Ralph," she pointed to the stuffed llama who was currently covered in bows from Christmas presents. Lily had been adamant about the fact that the llama wanted to look pretty.

"Are you going to leave all of those bows on him?"   
  
"Yep! He likes them, 'cause he's a pretty llama."   
  
Harry looked up to see Ginny in the doorway, a strange look on her face, as she watched them, "Ginny... are you alright?"   
  
Ginny shook herself and smiled at her husband, "of course," she went back into the kitchen and leaned against the door, taking several deep breaths. "I want this to work," she murmured to herself, "Mum, keeps telling me that love is a choice, and I want to love him. I just wish I wasn't so afraid of getting my heart broken..."

* * *

"What are you doing up here? I know very well that you have duties you are supposed to be attending to."   
  
Sophia turned from her perch on the cliff, "I was watching the men."   
  
"Honestly child, do you think of nothing else?"   
  
Sophia rolled her eyes, "of course I do! But don't you want to watch? Remus is wrestling..."  
  
Kalliope hurried over to the edge of the cliff and looked down, a slight smile pulled at her lips as she observed the scene on the beach below. Remus had stripped down, so that he was only wearing pants, and was indeed wrestling with one of the men, while the rest of Cadmus' tribe stood round and cheered them on. "How typical..." she muttered.   
  
"How typical what?" Sophia asked.   
  
Kalliope gave her ward of smile, "typical male behavior. You put them together and they have to start proving their masculinity. Now back to the temple with you, you better see to your duties before Rheia finds out you've been up here."   
  
Sophia hesitated, "Kalliope, before we go back to Hogwarts, there's something I want to do."   
  
"What is it child?"   
  
"I want to see my mother, my real mother; I want to know why she abandoned me."

* * *

"Are you going Zach?"   
  
"Yes, I have some..." he sighed, "business... to attend to in Paris."   
  
"Well, you have a good trip, and make sure you come back here if you have time before you have to be back at the school," Meg handed him his cloak and impulsively threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly, "its nice having a gentleman around the house when I'm usually stuck with these two," she nodded her head in Charlie and Alberto's direction.   
  
"I heard that," Charlie tried to frown at his wife, but couldn't quite manage it.   
  
After a quick round of goodbyes Zach was out the door, with his bag clutched in his hand he apparated to Paris, just outside the opera house. Dreading what the next few days might bring he made his way into the ornate building and through the secret passageways to his grandfather's lair. He stopped short as he reached the main living area and stared for a moment at the small blond girl sitting in front of the fire, "who are you?"   
  
"Ich bin Clara. Wir wohnen jetzt bei Herrn Eric, Tante Eva und mich. Und du, wie heisst du?"   
  
Zach didn't catch any of it beyond 'Clara', but had a vague idea of what the girl was after, "my name is Zach."   
  
"Ohhh!!! Eric ist dein Opa! Aber kannst du kein deutsch? Das ist nicht so gut, ich kann nur ein bischen englisch. Eric said you were coming," the girl labored over the English, but flashed a bright smile when she succeeded.   
  
"I see you've met one of my guests," Eric chuckled as he joined them, "never seems to stop talking that one, but I rather enjoy it."   
  
"Care to explain, or do I even want to know?" Zach crossed his arms across his chest as he gave his grandfather a scathing look.   
  
"It's simple, this is Clara Bhaer. She is currently staying with me, along with her aunt."   
  
"Why do you do this?"   
  
"Now Zach, there's no reason for you to start imposing your morals here, there's nothing for you to worry about. I simply thought that this would be the safest place for the ladies for the time being. When you return to Hogwarts you will take them with you. The Order of the Phoenix is being reinstated, it is imperative that Eva be part of it, I need you to watch over her, no harm must come to her."

* * *

"Did you have a nice time with Cadmus and his men?"  
  
"Not as nice a time as I would have had with you," Remus grazed Kalliope's cheek with a kiss as they walked towards her quarters on the edge of the temple complex. "It's been an awfully long time since we've been here together, I remember last time..."  
  
"I'm never doing that on a beach again," Kalliope frowned, "there are just some places where sand does not belong."   
  
Remus smiled softly at her, "I wouldn't notice, not if I were with you..."  
  
"Remus, the last thing I need is for you to start spouting poetry to me; I'm not that kind of woman."   
  
"Yes you are, you deserve to be worshiped."   
  
Kalliope blushed a bit as she led Remus into her room. She smiled as he wrapped his arms around her, and sighed softly as he kissed her neck and his hands gripped her waist. "I love you," she whispered.   
  
"And I'll always love you. I will never leave you."

* * *

Serena finished stretching and headed outside. She hadn't been able to get Dierna out of bed this morning, so she was going to go running by herself. She hummed to herself under her breath as she stepped outside and breathed in the sharp cold air. She was about to take off when something stopped her. She turned slightly, and felt a wave of nausea sweep over her. She clamped a hand to her mouth, trying to keep the bile from rising, as she let out a muffled scream.   
Severus heard the scream from where he sat in the kitchen with his morning tea, and instantly hurried outside. "Merlin's balls!" he gently tried to turn Serena away from the grisly scene.   
  
"No... my Bastet..." Serena tried to breathe as she looked at what was left of her cat. Bastet's head had been turned nearly completely around and her blood stained the pristine snow.   
  
"Don't look," Severus gripped her arm a bit for forcefully, "come on Serena," he spoke patiently and slowly, as though to a young child.   
  
Serena turned and buried her face in her father's shirt as she sobbed. When Morgan appeared moments later Severus handed their distraught daughter off to her and turned to deal with the mess. He quickly disposed of the cat's body, but something else caught his attention. He bent to retrieve a scrap of parchment from the snow:   
  
_You'll be next traitor, the dark lord will rise again and you life won't be worth living, even if we have to pick off your family one at a time._

He crumpled the paper in his hand and swore loudly. "Those fools cannot even face me, but they can kill my daughter's cat! Damn them all!" He stalked back inside, trying to get a handle on his temper. He tried to calm down as he entered the kitchen, where Serena was at the table, sobbing into her mother's shoulder. "Here, I thought you might want this," he laid Bastet's collar on the table. He cleared his throat awkwardly, "I am sorry about your cat."   
  
"You hated my cat," Serena choked out.   
  
"Yes I did, but I am still sorry that it happened. You loved her, and you should not have had to lose her because of me."   
  
Morgan's head shot up and she gave her husband a questioning look, but he shook his head, indicating that he would tell her later. "It'll be alright sweetie, why don't you have some tea, and then you can go back to bed for awhile," Morgan rubbed her back.   
  
Serena mutely nodded her head, but made no effort to move from where she was.   
  
"Serena I want you to go upstairs now," Severus managed to keep his voice even, but his eyes were blazing.   
  
Serena obeyed instantly, in an almost unthinking manor.   
  
"What is it Sev?" Morgan clutched her husband's arm as soon as their daughter left the room, "this goes beyond the cat, I can tell."   
  
Morgan found herself actually blushing at the string of profanities her husband let loose. She sat silently for several minutes, letting him vent.   
  
"Those bloody cowards!" Severus sank down into one of the kitchen chairs, burying his face in his hands, "they will not face me, they will only attack those that are too weak to fight back. What if they do go after our children...?"  
  
Morgan wrapped her arms around her husband's neck from behind, "I don't even want to think about it."   
  
"They are butchers, inhuman..."  
  
Morgan gently kissed his cheek, and leaned against him, not sure how to respond to his fears when they were want she feared the most. She didn't know what they would do if anything happened to their children.


	58. Chapter 58

Sophia dove into the water, feeling its cool fingers caress her as she made her way deeper and deeper. One of the advantages to having a nymph for a mother was that she could survive underwater for much longer than humans. She pushed through the water, kicking her feet, straining her eyes to see through the murky depths.  
  
She finally saw what she was looking for, a tall stone marker pointing the way to the underwater temple of Thetis. She swam down further, close to the bottom, coming to a rocky shelf. She examined the markings on the rock, which were above what appeared to be the entrance to a small cave. But what she went through was a magical barrier, which left her, dripping and out of the water, on a stone ledge in front of the small temple encased in a large cave.   
  
"What can I do for you little one?" a small woman with greenish-grey hair bustled forward, her blue robes flowing around her like water.   
  
"I need to speak with the priestess Briseis," Sophia whispered, looking around her in awe.   
  
"Of course child, come this way," the woman led her forward.   
  
"Who is it Nausikaa?"   
  
"My lady Briseis, this child has come looking for you."   
  
Sophia felt her mouth drop open, the woman before her had to be her mother. There was no mistaking their resemblance, "Lady," she inclined her head slightly, "I'm your daughter, and I need to... please tell me, why did you abandon me?"

* * *

"Are you alright sweetie?" Morgan sat on the edge of Serena's bed and ran her hand over her daughter's silky hair.   
  
"What threat could a cat have been to them?" Serena sniffed.   
  
"Oh honey, they just strike out wherever they can, they didn't care who got hurt as long as they could get more blood on their hands."   
  
"Well it's not fair!"   
  
"Most things in life aren't fair, and they hurt. I only wish I could protect you from all of life's hurts. But I can't."   
  
"I'm never going to have another cat..."  
  
Morgan sighed and wrapped her arms around her daughter, "I know you're going to hurt over this. But in all honesty, I have to tell you how relieved I am that it was only a cat. I don't know what I would do if you had been the one they attacked."

* * *

"Where is your mother?"   
  
"She had to run out for awhile, you know her friend Mary?" William waited for Sirius to nod in recognition, "she went into labor a couple of hours ago, and Mum went to St. Mungo's with her. She said she'd be back late tonight."   
  
"So what do you want to do this evening?"   
  
"I'm going out with Kamen, you can do whatever you want," William said as he headed towards the door. "And Mum said it was alright, so don't try to pull any fatherly restrictions on me."   
  
Sirius sighed as William left; obviously they still had a ways to go. "So what do you want to do tonight princess?" he looked down at Willow.   
  
"Read me a story!"   
  
Sirius chuckled, she was so easy to entertain, "we'll definitely do that, but how about we go out to dinner first?"   
  
Willow's eyes grew large, "yeah..."  
  
"Well, where would you like to go?"   
  
"You choose."

Sirius swung the little girl up into his arms, "let's go into town, and we'll choose a place together."

* * *

"Komm! Du musst mit Tante Eva sprechen. Sie kennt sehr viel uber alles!" Clara took Zach's hand and dragged him down the hallway to a small room.   
  
"I don't want to disturb her."   
  
"She won't mind, sie ist sehr nett."   
  
Zach allowed himself to be led to a room that was set up with a large number of cauldrons, with a small blond woman flitting between them. He felt his breath catch in his throat when she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing a mass of purple and blue bruising on the side of her face.   
  
"The death eaters got to her before I could," Eric said softly coming up beside them, "She refuses to use any of the healing salves for bruising because they have a tendency to make one sleepy. She insists that she needs to keep working."   
  
"Will she be alright?"   
  
"I am perfectly fine gentlemen, if you would care to stop discussing me as though I wasn't here," she looked up from her work, speaking in softly accented English.   
  
"Of course you are my dear," Eric sidled up to her, taking her hand in his own weathered one, "you'll have to excuse us for worrying over you, but I know that my grandson hates to see a woman in distress, and he is apt to be even more worried if the woman in question is in my presence."   
  
"And this must be the elusive Zach, ja?" Eva shook back her blond hair, which cascaded around her shoulders, and looked Zach up and down with cool grey eyes.   
  
"Yes, I'm Zach," he mentally cursed himself for blushing.   
  
"I hope my niece has not been bothering you," Eva smiled a bit as she nodded in Clara's direction.   
  
"Not at all, I only wish I could understand what she was telling me."   
  
Eva rolled her eyes, "Clara, du musst Englisch sprechen mit ihm, verstehst du?"   
  
"Ja, ja... kein deutsch mehr Englisch, ich verstehe."   
  
"She'll try harder to speak to you in English, she understands it well enough, she just doesn't like to take the time to think about how to speak it.   
  
"I think it's about time that little ears were in bed," Eric said as he observed the contents of one of the cauldrons, "we have much to discuss. I've been doing some spying of my own and the two of you must be fully informed of what is going on before you join the Order."

* * *

"No!!! You're the blue ducky, mine is the yellow one!"   
  
Sirius sighed, after nearly a half hour of coaxing he had finally convinced Willow to get in the bath, but getting her clean was an entirely different story. "Let's get your hair washed princess, then we can read a bedtime story."   
  
"No! I wanna play with the ducks."   
  
Sirius vaguely remembered Elizabeth saying something about Willow's recent attachment to the word 'no', but so far he hadn't encountered it. "Come on sweetie," he tried to reason with her, "lets not be difficult. We'll just finished getting you washed and into bed."   
  
"No!"   
  
"Willow," Sirius fought hard to keep his patience, "we can either do this the easy way or the hard way. Either we can get your hair washed and then go read a bedtime story together, or if you keep fighting me you're going to get your hair washed, then a time out, and then straight to bed with no story, it's your choice."   
  
Willow pouted and a few tears threatened, but she submitted to the shampoo. Something Sirius was genuinely thankful for, because he didn't know if he had it in him to punish his little princess. "There, now isn't that better?" he asked as he put away the shampoo and wrapped Willow in a large towel.

He finished getting her ready for bed, then ended up reading her two stories before she fell asleep. He was still sitting on the edge of her bed, absolutely exhausted and amazed at how sweet she looked when she was sleeping, when Elizabeth came home.   
  
"Did you two have a nice evening?" Elizabeth asked as she twined her arms around his neck.   
  
"Maybe we won't have any children of our own," Sirius mused as he pulled his wife down for a kiss.   
  
Elizabeth chuckled softly, "was she that much trouble?"  
  
He sighed, "No, just more work than I was anticipating. I don't know how you ever did this by yourself..."  
  
"With a lot of patience and a lot of love. You're doing fine Sirius, I know you're new to the whole parenting thing. Give it some time, I can't promise you that it will get any easier, but you'll get more comfortable with it. And, I'll be right there beside you every step of the way. So if we decide that we do want more children..."  
  
"I hope you realize how much I love you Elizabeth, because I'm not sure I tell you often enough."

* * *

"Must I?"   
  
"Yes."   
  
"Morgan, there is no reason why you cannot..."  
  
"Sev, please darling, I'm really not feeling that well. I just want to lay down for a bit, and I promised them they could go today, and with the way things are going they are most certainly not going alone. Please take them..."  
  
Severus gave a long suffering sigh, "only for you." Not even the passionate kiss his wife bestowed upon him improved the situation. In light of the spring ball that would take place at Hogwarts that year Morgan had promised to take the girls dress shopping over the holiday break, now however it appeared that he was stuck taking them. It was definitely not how he would choose to spend his day.   
  
"Look on the bright side Sev," Morgan wrapped her arms around him; "you'll get the final say on what is appropriate attire for a school dance. And it will get Serena out of the house, and maybe she'll be able to stop thinking about her cat for awhile. Doesn't that make you feel better?"   
  
"Infinitely," Severus deadpanned, his face giving away no emotion whatsoever.   
  
Morgan smiled and kissed him on the cheek, "enjoy yourself, I'll probably be napping when you get back."   
  
"I'm ecstatic." By the time they arrived at Madam Malkin's in Diagon Alley Severus was ready to be back home. He silently followed his girls into the robe shop, feeling a headache coming on. He wasn't sure if he could handle this.   
  
Serena and Nimue were instantly drawn into the whole adventure of dress shopping and were soon pouring through the racks with Madam Malkin herself, looking at the latest styles. Severus sank into a chair, steeling himself for a long wait. He therefore did a poor job of hiding his surprise when Dierna sank to the floor at his feet and leaned her head against his knee, "Is something wrong?"   
  
Dierna shrugged, "I have no intention of going to the ball, so I have no reason to try on dresses."   
  
"This wouldn't have anything to do with the absence of a certain Mr. MacNeill would it?"   
  
He was rewarded with another shrug.   
  
"You do not need Stefan to go to the ball Dierna, find a dress."   
  
"I'll think about it."   
  
Severus was incredibly thankful when Nimue found a dress almost immediately, a violet one, which matched her eyes almost exactly, with silver embroidery, and in a cut that he could find no fault with. Serena however, was proving more difficult, "absolutely not," he declared on her first trip out of the dressing room.   
  
"Why not?" Serena surveyed herself in the full length mirror, admiring the way the red, strapless dress clung to her body.   
  
"There are no sleeves on that abomination, how is it supposed to stay up?"   
  
Serena rolled her eyes, "they're called breasts Dad, and it's tight enough that it won't fall off."   
  
Severus felt the heat rising in his face, this was precisely why Morgan should have come with them, "you will not be getting anything that relies on your..." Severus sought for a word, "endowments... to hold it up. And you," he turned on Dierna who was giggling madly over the whole exchange, "there is nothing funny about this, stop that right now!" he hissed at her.   
  
Dierna made a valiant effort to curb her amusement, but found that it was very difficult. "I'm sorry Dad, but you should have seen your face..." she burst into another fit of giggles.   
  
"Well at least one of us is enjoying themselves," Severus muttered as he glowered darkly at the dressing rooms, dreading what Serena would come out in next.   
  
The next six dresses Serena tried on were all met with a resounding 'no'. She slipped on one more, and came out to spin in front of the mirrors, "what do you think?"   
  
Severus sighed, he wasn't overly thrilled about the spaghetti straps, but at least this one had a back on it and was not cut scandalously low. And he had to admit that she did look nice in that dark shade of pink, "I suppose..."  
  
"Thank you Dad," Serena rushed over to hug him before heading back to change into her own clothes.   
  
"And what about this one, surely there's something we can tempt her with," Madame Malkin smiled kindly at Dierna.   
  
"I don't think so..." Dierna started to protest.  
  
"Find her something," Severus cut in, "she needs a formal dress too."   
  
Dierna tried to object, but found herself being dragged to the back of the store to look at dresses. The next thing she knew she was back in a dressing room being thrust into a dress by the proprietress. She emerged to survey herself in the mirrors, wearing a dark gold gown that had a wide neck and its silky fabric clung to her gentle curves as it fell to the floor.   
  
"We'll take it," Severus said, approval showing in his eyes, "it's perfect."   
  
"Dad I really don't need...  
  
He raised an eyebrow, "I don't care want you think on the matter, it is the perfect dress for you."   
  
The next few minutes were spent in purchasing the three dresses and getting them wrapped up before they headed outside to return home, and not a minute to soon as far as Severus was concerned.   
  
"Dad, look," Nimue clutched his arm as they stepped outside, it was eerily dim out, as though dusk had come early, and the dark mark hung ominously in the sky.

* * *

"It's time for you to go back," Briseis said without ceremony as she stood.   
  
Sophia could have howled in frustration, she had been here for nearly a whole day, but had received little information from this priestess who had given her life. She still hadn't been told why she had been given up.   
  
As Sophia neared the barrier that would let her back out into the ocean she turned, and steeled herself for one last confrontation, "why didn't you want me, in our society daughters are valued above all else, why was I different?"

Briseis looked down at the girl, standing so determinedly, in front of her, "I loved Sirius, in my own way. I didn't want him to leave. When he did go, I swore to destroy everything that reminded me of him, even the child he gave me. At one time I would have wanted you, but that time is past. It is time we part ways little one, and there is no need for you to seek me out again. Find your own life, and forget that I am here." And with that she forced Sophia out into the waters of the Aegean.   
  
Sophia swam as quickly as she could back to the shore. By the time she cleared the water sobs were racking her body. She wasn't wanted. It was as simple as that. She finally reached the beach and fell on the sand, thinking that her life wasn't worth living.

* * *

Severus swore under his breath, and commanding his daughters to stay where they were, grabbed the first person who came by, a nervous looking man, and demanded to know what was going on.   
  
"Coordinated attacks, they hit here and a couple of other cities to the north. Hogsmeade got it the worst, just heard that the Ministry is getting there now and the attack is still happening, the whole town may be knocked out."   
  
Severus did some quick thinking. His home was only a few minutes walk from Hogsmeade. He did not want to take his girls into the heart of danger, but Morgan was there... he honestly did not know what to do. He was brought out of his reverie by a tug on his robes; he looked down to see Nimue looking up at him expectantly.   
  
"What are we going to do?" she asked, looking, he thought, far too innocent to have to be thrust into the middle of what was fast becoming an all out war.   
  
Severus made a swift decision. The option of flooing back home was out of the picture, as all of Diagon Alley was now in an uproar, and none of the girls' were able to apparate. He pulled a small vial out of his pocket and quickly charmed it into a portkey. They would use that to go home, and then collect Morgan and Kamen and head straight to Hogwarts, that would be the safest place to be.

* * *

"It's starting!" Eric proclaimed as he rushed back from his sanctum sanctorum.   
  
"Was ist los?" Eva looked up from her work.   
  
"You three are leaving now," Eric commanded, as he started throwing jars and vials into a bag. "These are all the healing supplies I have on hand, take them with you Poppy will need whatever I can spare."   
  
"What is...?" Zach started.   
  
"No time for questions now," Eric cut him off, "take Eva and Clara to Hogwarts, now. And keep them safe."   
  
"Tell me what is going on first," Zach demanded as he pulled his grandfather aside.   
  
"They just got one step closer to brining Voldemort back; they're celebrating by creating as much destruction as possible. They may come here or at least try to, they won't get past my wards, but I need you and the girls out of here now. You'll be safer at Hogwarts."   
  
Zach frowned, but nodded curtly. He looked up to see that in the time he had spent conferring with his grandfather Eva and Clara had collected their belongings and were waiting for him. "I think we'll floo back to Hogwarts..." he mused, trying to figure out the best way to go.

"No, their spies in the Ministry may be watching the floo network, come back to the sanctuary, you can go that way."

* * *

"Care to tell me what's wrong?" Remus asked in his soft spoken way as he crouched down on the sand next to Sophia. His voice didn't give away any of the panic or relief he felt at finding her there. The temple had been in somewhat of a panic since she had gone missing the evening before.   
  
"No I don't."   
  
"What's wrong Sophia?" Remus asked kindly, "I had rather hoped that you would trust me enough by now to confide in me," he smiled wryly, "even if I am a man."   
  
Sophia swiped her hand across her eyes as she sat up, "I just don't want to talk about it," she replied. The last thing she wanted to tell him was that she wasn't wanted. That no one wanted her...   
  
"Well, if you don't feel like talking I think we best get you back up to the temple so they can stop worrying about you."   
  
"No! I don't want to go back there," Sophia protested.   
  
Remus looked at her worriedly, the little novice, who was usually so confidant and aggressive, looked scared and unsure. He wanted to help her, but couldn't do that unless she told him why she was hurting.   
  
"I'm fine, really!"   
  
"You sound more like you're trying to convince yourself than me."   
  
Sophia sniffed miserably, "I'm unwanted. I don't belong at the temple, I don't belong in the wizarding world, and my parents gave me up without a second thought. I'm nothing to anyone, Kalliope is just stuck with me, she didn't have a choice in the matter. I'm worthless."   
  
Remus cupped her chin in his hand, "now you listen to me young lady. You are anything but worthless. And you do have a family. Kalliope loves you very much, she just has a hard time showing it sometimes, she's lost so many people close to her that she has problems with emotion sometimes. And I want you very much. If I ever get your guardian to marry me, I promise you that you will be like a daughter to me."   
  
"Really?"   
  
"Really."

* * *

"That was certainly the most interesting way I've ever traveled," Eva commented as they arrived at Hogwarts.   
  
Zach merely shrugged, "I don't know where he comes up with that stuff."   
  
"Sind wir in einem Schloss?"   
  
"Ja Clara, this is a castle, and it is a school," Eva patiently answered, "and please use English so that Zach can understand you."   
  
"You know about Hogwarts?" Zach asked, a bit surprised.   
  
"Mr. O'Hara, thank goodness you got back safely. Your grandfather just checked to see if you were here and I was beginning to get frantic!" Minerva McGonagall exclaimed as she rushed forward, looking, for the first time Zach could remember, a bit on the ruffled side.   
  
"What's going on Headmistress?" Zach said as he set down his bag.

"Too much to explain now," Minerva looked over the trio in front of her nervously, "until other arrangements are made I think we should settle the little one in your room for now Zach. I need you and, Eva is it? I believe that's what Eric told me... to join me in the dungeons as soon as possible. I will explain then." 

* * *

Meg sighed, a small smile playing at her lips as she checked on the twins, who were out cold for their afternoon nap. After sticking her head in Diana and Cassandra's room to make sure they weren't getting into too much trouble she retreated to the kitchen for a relaxing cuppa and a novel she never seemed to have time to finish.   
  
She was just settling down when there was a loud pop and Fawkes appeared on the kitchen table, the phoenix had persistently hung around Hogwarts after Dumbledore's death but Meg couldn't remember ever seeing him out of the school since then, dropped a letter and disappeared with another pop just as quickly as he had come. Meg felt a sense of foreboding as she reached for the parchment. With shaking fingers she unfolded the letter, and felt her stomach take a dramatic twist as she read its contents, "Charlie!" she yelled as she bolted out of her chair, the novel falling to the floor, forgotten, "we have to leave now!"


	59. Chapter 59

"Arthur dear, where are you going?"   
  
"Emergency at the Ministry, I have to go in and see if we can't this whole mess straightened out," he managed a weak smile for his wife, which didn't fool her in the least.   
  
Molly wanted to protest, but knew that as the Minister of Magic her husband had little choice in times of crisis. "Just be careful, and..."  
  
But she was cut off as Fawkes popped in and out, leaving a letter behind. Arthur picked up the parchment and scanned the contents quickly. "I can't go; I have to be at the Ministry. But you best go Molly; they're going to need all the help they can get."

* * *

"Where is the meeting going to take place Minerva?" Severus asked as he strode down the hall with Minerva, Morgan trailing along behind.

"In one of the lower dungeons. I have set up a system of wards, hopefully it will be enough."   
  
The three of them paused in front of a tapestry of Circe hanging at what appeared to be a dead end to one of the many dank corridors in the dungeons.   
  
The woven figure of Circe smirked down at the three people standing in front of her; she took her time examining the contents of the embroidered wine cup in her hand before looking up completely, "can I do something for you?" she asked as she tossed her curls over her shoulder.   
  
Minerva scowled at the embellished woman, but decided it wasn't worth her time, "Mnemosyne," she said clearly, giving the password.   
  
Circe shrugged, "fine, have it your way, but I was rather hoping someone might want to stick around for awhile. No one ever stays with me..." but the figure in the tapestry obligingly gave a wave of her hand and revealed the passageway hidden in the wall at her right.   
  
They followed a long twisting hallway, dimly let by sporadic sconces, until they came to a heavy wooden door. "Good, it appears everyone that needs to be here for the time being has already arrived," Minerva swept her gaze over the gathered group, noticeably present were Charlie and Meg Weasley, Bill Weasley, Molly Weasley, Zach, Eva, Alberto, Remus and Kalliope, Morgan and Severus, Sirius, a handful of other people, and herself. And of course Albus Dumbledore, from one of his portraits that had been moved down to this obscure room. Minerva nodded in satisfaction, this at least was a start, "the Order of the Phoenix has been reinstated. We consider the recent acts of the dark forces to be nothing short of all out war. In the days to come certain changes will be made to protect the safety of our members and the students of this school. But first, any survivors found in the wreckage that is left of Hogsmeade who have nowhere else to go will be brought here to the school until other arrangements can be made."

* * *

Kamen hesitated for only a moment before making his way down to his father's office. It was one of the few rooms in the school that was on the floo network, something he was in desperate need of for what he was going to do next.   
  
He would have liked to have William here for support, but he wasn't back at the school yet. Taking a deep breath Kamen threw the floo powder into the fire and clearly said, "The raven's nest." He felt the familiar whirling sensation the accompanied floo travel and stumbled out of the fireplace at the other end. Straightening up he nodded at the dark man who met him, "the raven flies at midnight."   
  
"And leaves a shadow across the moon," the dark man responded as he took Kamen's hand. "Welcome to the headquarters of the Grigorian Brotherhood."

* * *

"Bloody hell..." Harry observed the dismal scene of Hogsmeade. It was hard for him to believe that this smoking, dark, deserted place was where he had spent so many happy weekends during his school years and after. "They've destroyed it." He hadn't gotten back to the school in time for the Order's meeting, but was now combing the burnt out town with Severus and several other members for any survivors.   
  
"It could have been worse," Severus said as he kicked at a charred board.   
  
"How?"   
  
"You probably don't want to know."   
  
"Professor, is that you?" Madame Rosmerta, who was looking rather worse for wear, appeared, leading a small girl by the hand and followed by a small cluster of witches and wizards. "Thank goodness, it is you, and Mr. Potter, I was worried that it might be them back again."

"Are there more survivors Rosmerta, or are you all of them?" Severus asked, his face an emotional mask.

Rosmerta sighed, "I simply don't know. I think I saw another group of people, but it could have been Ministry members, they're starting to show up now. Too bad they didn't get here in time to protect us," she spat.   
  
"I'm going to take them up to the school for now, think you can handle yourself here Potter?" Severus snarled.   
  
"Of course," Harry was not put off at all by Severus' angry tone. He only wished he could mask the horror he felt over this situation as well as the potions master.   
  
Severus gave a curt nod in acknowledgement before falling in next to Rosmerta for the walk to Hogwarts. The group was a silent one, each person trying to absorb what had happened that day.   
  
"There you are," Morgan rushed out from the school's entrance to greet the group, relief evident on her face at seeing her husband return unharmed. "This can't be all of the survivors," she whispered sucking in her breath, but she noticed that her husband wouldn't quite meet her eyes. She sighed looking over the straggled group, her eyes finally resting on the girl clutching Rosmerta's hand, "this one isn't yours Rosmerta, who is she?"   
  
Rosmerta sighed wearily, "I found her."   
  
"Her parents?"   
  
Rosmerta sadly shook her head.   
  
"What's your name sweetie?" Morgan knelt down in front of the tiny child.   
  
"Olivia," the girl stuck a grimy finger in her mouth as she shook her black curls further into her face, trying to hide behind them.   
  
"Poor dear," Morgan whispered as she took the girl's free hand in her own, "come inside we'll get you all cleaned up and find you something to eat, does that sound alright?" She looked up, "We'll get all of you settled for the night, anyone who is injured will be shown to the infirmary."   
  
"What should we do with her?" Rosmerta nodded down at the child, who she guessed couldn't be much more than five.   
  
Morgan pursed her lips, "I don't know." She sighed, "Rosmerta you're hurt, I can clearly see that. Take care of yourself; I'll watch her for now."

* * *

"There's nothing like being put to work as soon as you show up is there," Zach turned to Eva as they patrolled the school hallways together.   
  
She shrugged, "es ist mir egal. I would rather have something to do than just sit around."   
  
"What was the first thing you said?"   
  
Eva smiled a bit, but winced at the way that pulled at the bruises that still covered one side of her face, "something along the lines of 'I don't mind'. Sorry, I'll try to watch that, but it's a hard habit to break."   
  
"Zach, who's the doll?" Alberto came around the corner; he captured Eva's hand in his own and brought it to his lips.   
  
Zach rolled his eyes, even in a time of crisis Alberto had a one track mind, "This is Miss Eva Bhaer. You already met her at the meeting Alberto, so unless there was anything else you needed...?"  
  
Alberto instantly sobered, "yes, if you two are done with your patrol rounds Pomphrey needs all the help she can get patching people up in the infirmary."   
  
Zach sighed, "Yeah, we're done here. Are you coming Eva?"   
  
The petit blond shook her head, "in a bit, I think I should check on Clara first, make sure she hasn't managed to get into any trouble yet."

* * *

Severus sat on one side of the Hospital Wing, a scowl on his face.   
  
"You look awfully cheerful," Harry commented as he dropped into a chair next to the potions master.   
  
"We are in the middle of a crisis, the start of a war, and that's all you can think of to say?" Severus snapped, his scowl darkening.   
  
"Sorry," Harry muttered, "it was just you were sitting over here, and I thought..."  
  
"Gryffindors do not think Mr. Potter."   
  
Harry sighed, looking for mutual ground, "more survivors keep trickling in, it looks like the death count won't be nearly as large as we originally thought."   
  
Severus gave a nod of acknowledgement but continued to glare across the room, his gaze lingering on where Morgan was sitting with the child, trying to coax her to eat something.   
  
Harry followed his gaze, "it's too bad about her parents," he said softly.   
  
"In more ways than one."   
  
Harry looked up, "what do you mean."   
  
Severus sighed, "look at them," he nodded towards his wife and the child, "I have the distinct feeling that I'm going to hear the plea, 'she followed me home, can I keep her?'"   
  
"Would that be so bad?" Harry thought of his own Lily, "They're awfully cute at that age."   
  
Severus merely frowned and stood up, "I have to go patrol," he said as he swept from the room, his black robes billowing behind him.

* * *

"Do I have to stay here tonight?" Olivia sniffed as she clutched at the blanket wrapped around her shoulders. "I want my Mama and Daddy..." several tears spilled over.   
  
"Come here darling," Morgan wrapped her arms around the girl, it was hard to believe that she was six, or nearly seven as she insisted, she was such a little thing, "you have to stay at the school, but you don't have to stay here in the Hospital Wing if it scares you, we can find someplace else for you. Would that be better?"   
  
The little girl nodded miserably, "yes please."   
  
"Then we'll do that," Morgan pressed her cheek against Olivia's tear streaked one, "now, will you please eat something for me dear?"   
  
"Not hungry..."  
  
"Alright, we'll try again later," Morgan held the girl close, "now let's find a place for you to stay tonight, you need to get some sleep."   
  
"Stay with you..." Olivia mumbled into the folds of the blanket.   
  
"What do we have here?" Harry asked as he joined them, sitting on the edge of the hospital bed.   
  
"Harry this is Olivia. Olivia, can you say hello to Mr. Potter?"   
  
The girl shook her head and buried her face against Morgan.   
  
"Maybe later then," Morgan said, running her hand over Olivia's tangled curls. That sat in silence for several minutes before Morgan realized that the girl had fallen asleep against her.   
  
"Where are you going to put her for the night?" Harry asked softly.   
  
"In Severus and my quarters, we have a spare room."   
  
Harry tried to cover his look of surprise, "does Severus know?"   
  
Morgan shook her head, "no, but he won't mind."   
  
"Here, let me carry her for you," Harry took Olivia out of Morgan's arms and held her carefully so as not to wake her as they headed down towards the dungeons.   
  
"How's Ginny?" Morgan asked.   
  
"Things are getting better," Harry understood the unasked question, "I think things will work out fine."   
  
"Is she going to be participating in the Order?"   
  
Harry sighed, "We discussed it, for now no. One of us needs to stay uninvolved for the children's sake, especially with Lily still at home.   
  
"It would be nice if you two could spend some time together..."  
  
"I know, and I am trying Morgan, really I am. It's just... I don't think she's ever forgiven me for that night with Cho..."  
  
"Oh Harry, surely she knows that nothing happened!"   
  
Harry sighed and shifted Olivia in his arms as they continued down the hallway, "she says she does, but I know it broke her heart to ever doubt me. I don't blame her for not wanting me back..."  
  
"Harry James Potter stop that right now! She does want you back, she's told me so herself. Just keep trying and you two will get it right. She loves you desperately and you love her too. But if the two of you are more concerned about getting hurt than simply loving each other, than you're not going to get anywhere, I know that only too well."   
  
"Thanks Morgan," Harry said as they reached the entrance to the Snapes' chambers and Morgan opened the door, letting them in.   
  
"Not at all. You two are meant for each other, I have to do my meddling part to make sure you stay that way," she smiled as she led him to the spare bedroom and turned back the covers so he could lay Olivia down.   
  
"I better get going," Harry said as he ran a hand through his perpetually messy hair, "not only will your husband hex me into oblivion if he finds me down here, but they probably need more help patrolling tonight."

* * *

"Why did Daddy have to leave?" Willow looked mournfully up at her mother.   
  
"Because sweetie, some bad people attacked several villages today, Sirius had to go back to Hogwarts to help protect the students."   
  
"Oh... can't he stay here and protect us though?"   
  
Elizabeth held her daughter close, "no sweetie, we can look after each other, and he'll be back to check up on us as often as possible."   
  
"And where's Will, did he go to Hogwarts too?"   
  
Elizabeth frowned; she hadn't seen her son for a couple of hours now. She tried not to panic as she thought about what might have happened to him.

* * *

"For those of you that are new to us, my name is Armand. I am the current leader of the Grigorian Brotherhood. I welcome our new members, and those who have been here before," the dark man looked out over the group of men gathered in the large room. Most of them were young; there were only a handful of them that were over the age of thirty. "I won't lie to you, we are a militant group. But, we only have the wizarding population's best interests in mind. That includes the defeat of Voldemort and any forces that support him."   
  
There was a collective cheer from the assembled members at the last statement.  
  
"I give you fair warning now," Armand said raising his voice, "if you want out this is the time to do it. Your memory of this meeting will be obliviated and you can go on with your life. However, if you choose to stay there will be no backing out at any point further down the line. You will be one of us."

* * *

The bright morning sun seemed to contrast sharply with the burnt out wreckage of Hogsmeade as Ministry members combed through the remains for anything that was salvageable.   
  
"Bloody hell..." Ron muttered as he scouted the area with a contingent of aurors, "they sure did a thorough job..."  
  
"It's only going to get worse from here I'm afraid," Arthur pulled his cloak closer around him.   
  
"Have you found anything useful?" Severus said as he approached the two Weasley men.   
  
Arthur shook his head, "nothing that will lead us specifically to who did this," he sighed, "and unfortunately, I must be returning to the Ministry, its not even safe there these days..."

"Arthur, a word before you go, if you have the time."   
  
"Of course Severus, Order business?"

* * *

"I think that we can safely say the Hogsmeade trips are canceled until further notice," Minerva addressed the staff. "And, we are going to have nightly patrols; I don't want to risk anything happening to the student body."   
  
"What about the quidditch matches?" Remus asked.   
  
"For the time being they will continue, however, that is subject to change should there be increased threats, and I want a member of the staff present at all practices. I would like to remind you that curfew must be strictly enforced, and no students should be out of the castle after dark. I will compose a list of all the new enforcements and precautions, and will have the Heads of House review them with the Houses when the term restarts."  
  
Morgan gave Severus a worried look as she slid her hand into his, the last time she could remember security being this tight was during her seventh year when everyone though Sirius was a dangerous convict. She had hoped that these dark days were behind them forever, but it was not to be. "How much longer do you think this will last?" she whispered to her husband, she was thinking of Olivia, who had been left asleep in their chambers in the care of Misty.

"Not long," Severus gave her hand a squeeze.   
  
"Severus," Minerva cut into the couple's interlude, "a word before you leave. I received another letter from Eric."

* * *

"What do you think will happen?" Dierna asked, as she lay on her bed in the dorm room.   
  
"No idea," Serena answered from her own four-poster. "Bet you anything the school's going to come up with about a hundred more rules."  
  
"Probably."   
  
"It's too bad about what happened to Hogsmeade..."  
  
"Do you think Stefan will be alright?"   
  
"What?"   
  
"I mean," Dierna rolled over onto her stomach, "I just have this feeling like he's somehow involved with all of this. No one has told me what exactly he's doing on this secret mission for the Ministry, but I think it has something to do with the dark forces. I'm worried about him..."  
  
"Don't worry hon; I'm sure Stefan can take care of himself. The Ministry wouldn't have forced him into an assignment he couldn't handle."   
  
"I wish I was that confidant..." Dierna muttered to herself.

* * *

Severus peeked into the bathroom when he finally managed to escape from Minerva to find Morgan wrapping Olivia in a large towel, and a stuffed rabbit sitting on the counter already wrapped in a towel.   
  
Morgan looked up at him and gave him a small smile at his questioning look, "the rabbit's name is Tristan, we were afraid something might happen to him if he was left alone so he joined us for a bath."   
  
Severus raised an eyebrow, but chose not to comment on what he felt was a ridiculous concept of bathing a stuffed rabbit, "a word with you Morgan when you get a chance," and he swept back out.   
  
"He's kinda scary," Olivia whispered to Morgan as she was helped into her nightgown.   
  
"Hmmm... well I promise he doesn't bite," she gave the girl a wink, "most of the time." She pulled the Olivia close to her for a hug. She hadn't been with her for two days yet, but Morgan had already lost her heart. This little girl was trying so hard to be strong in light of all that had happened to her, and Morgan knew that she missed her parents dreadfully. But she was also encouraged by how the girl seemed to cling to her, perhaps the girl would accept her as a mother, if only she could talk to Severus about it...  
  
"Will you read me a story? It will help me go to sleep, and I don't want to cry myself to sleep like last night..."  
  
Morgan was struck by how serious the little six year old was, "of course sweetie, but I want you to remember, its ok to cry. I know you loved your parents very much, and they loved you. It's alright to miss them."   
  
Olivia nodded thoughtfully, she had in fact spent most of the day clinging to Tristan and crying, but the events of the last few days had left her a new seriousness, that contrasted sharply with her young age. "Will I ever see them again?" she asked as tears filled her eyes.   
  
Morgan knelt down in front of her, "they can't come back, do you understand that Olivia?" she waited for the girl to nod, "and no one really understands what happens when people die, but I like to believe that they're waiting for you and that you'll see them again someday, but not for a long time. Can you understand that at all sweetie?"   
  
Olivia nodded again and sniffed as she wiped at her tears, "I just miss them."   
  
"I know you do. Let's get you into bed now, it's been a rough couple of days for you and you need to get some sleep."   
  
She picked the little girl up and carried her towards the spare bedroom, but paused for a minute in the warm living room, "Sev, would you like to join us for a story?"  
  
Severus looked up from his book, and couldn't help thinking that Olivia, who Morgan was already so attached to, could easily pass as their own daughter, "I think not, I have some work to get done."   
  
Morgan nodded but felt her heart dropping; she took Severus' lack of interest to mean that he would not be open to adopting the girl. She tried to fight back her own sorrow as she put Olivia to bed and read to her until the little girl drifted to sleep with Tristan clutched tightly in her arms.   
  
"What did Eric have to say?" Morgan asked as she joined her husband on the sofa, she leaned against him.   
  
"The usual, a lot of nothing, and that nothing is not what I want to hear."   
  
Morgan would have giggled at her husband's cryptic response if she wasn't feeling so miserable. She was terrified. They were entering a war and she didn't know if their family would make it through unscathed, but she still desperately wanted to add on to the family. She sighed as she wriggled her way into her husband's embrace. "Do you think we'll make it through this?"   
  
Severus laid aside his book, "you know I can't answer that."   
  
"I don't know if I can handle any more losses to this family."   
  
"And yet I can tell you're allowing yourself to become attached to that little girl in the next room. That would only be one more person to worry about."   
  
"I suppose so... but I did a little checking on my own, she has no other family, she'll end up in an orphanage..." Morgan laid her head on his shoulder.   
  
Severus shifted his hold on his wife as he reached for something on the end table, "I got you something."   
  
"What is it?" Morgan looked up at him questioningly.   
  
"Look for yourself," he handed her a stack of parchment.

Morgan felt tears filling her eyes, "Adoption papers?"   
  
Severus nodded.   
  
Morgan threw her arms around his neck and sobbed openly, "I didn't want to ask you. Thank you Sev."


	60. Chapter 60

Zach accompanied Eva back to her room to put Clara to bed. As little as he thought of his grandfather, he was taking the old man's advice to watch over this woman to heart.  
  
Eva sighed, "What story do you want?"   
  
"Der Erlkönig."   
  
Eva frowned, "I don't think that's a good bedtime story."   
  
"Bitte?!"   
  
"What's the..."  
  
"Erlkönig," Eva supplied to Zach's question, "something that I do not think qualifies as appropriate bedtime material. You'll have nightmares Clara."

"Will not! Es is sehr gut Tanta Eva!" Clara pleaded, "'Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind? Es is der Vater mit seinem Kind: Er hat den Knaben wohl in dem Arm, Er fast ihn sicher, er hält ihm warm'," she chanted in a sing-song voice.   
  
"Well since you know it I guess I don't need to tell it to you," Eva tried to reason.   
  
"Bitte Eva, du must mir helfen, ich kenne das Ende nicht."   
  
Eva rolled her eyes and looked over at Zach, "the Erl-King is an old story. In the poem a son and father are riding through the woods at night, only the boy can see and hear the Erl-King, and by the time the poem ends the boy is dead. It is a rather grisly tale, und sehr traurig."   
  
"Tanta Eva, ist der Erlkönig the same as Voldemort?"

* * *

"The children certainly took the news well."  
  
"I figured they would."   
  
"How do you do it Sev?"   
  
"Do what?" Severus glanced down at his wife.   
  
"You always try to give me exactly what I want without giving it a second thought; you're so good to me."   
  
Severus reached for his wife's hand, "I just hope you realize that the girl is your responsibility. With what the Order has given me to do..." he sighed, "I won't have much free time to assist in child rearing."   
  
Morgan shrugged, "we'll manage just fine." At the moment she didn't think anything could crush her spirits. Olivia had been told that she had a choice, she could be adopted by the Snapes or another family would be found for her. When the girl agreed to stay with them Morgan had been moved to tears. Now she was content to build castles in the sky for the newest addition to their family, a beautiful little girl with ebony curls and dusky blue eyes. Even with the impending hostilities she was strangely at peace.   
  
"Eric wants me to come to Paris for a day or two before classes start up, will you be alright on your own?"   
  
"We won't be on our own, all the staff is back at the school."   
  
"You know that's not what I meant."   
  
Morgan rose up on her toes to kiss her husband, "we'll be fine."

* * *

"I'm glad you brought the kids with you, this will be fun," Sirius commented as he stood up from where he had been playing with Bran and Branwen on the floor.   
  
Meg smiled, "I didn't have much choice, if the Order needs me here then they have to come too."   
  
"At least it will keep things interesting."   
  
Meg rolled her eyes, "interesting is definitely an understatement. Do you realize how many things I have to worry about them getting into? Trust me, I've heard enough horror stories about when Sev and Morgan's children were this age growing up in the school, I'm terrified."

* * *

"Where do we stand now?"   
  
"Our men are at the head of nearly every department in the Ministry."   
  
"Good, getting rid of that mudblood-loving Weasley should prove to be an easy task," Draco's eyes shined maliciously, "we shall be one step closer to victory."   
  
"How are we going to remove Weasley from office, he is a very popular Head Minister. People may become suspicious if the other heads of office merely call for his removal."   
  
Draco glared, "you are incredibly dense sometimes Macnair, however did you climb so far up the political ladder? We simply plant evidence that he has been embezzling funds from the Ministry, charges will be brought against him, and his own supporters will be forced to remove him from office. They will do our own work for us, and then our people will see that one of us replaced that good for nothing Weasley as the Head Minister."   
  
Macnair coldly calculated Draco for several minutes, of late Malfoy had become very hard to read, "And what is my role in this mission?"   
  
"You will supplant Arthur Weasley. How does 'Minister Macnair' sound to you?"

* * *

"Miss Bhaer, I trust that you have been informed as to the nature of our assignment?"

"Ja Herr Professor, I was informed."   
  
Severus looked down at the young woman, "I find it hard to believe that someone of your age knows enough to be useful in this endeavor. However, since we have been given the same task by the Order I trust you will be able to prove yourself."   
  
"Professor," Eva drilled him with her cool grey eyes, "I am not one of your students to be intimidated by you. I know very well what I am doing; I have no need to prove that to you."   
  
"Very well then. Why is your niece in your care?"   
  
"Is this an interrogation?"   
  
"No, merely idle curiosity. If we are going to work together I feel that I am at least entitled to know a small part of your background."   
  
Eva arched a delicate eyebrow at this assertion, but shrugged it off, "she is my brother's child. My brother was much older than me, and our parents died young so he ended up raising me for the most part. When he and his wife died it was the least I could do to take Clara."   
  
"Why are you here?"   
  
"Because the Order requested that I..."  
  
"No, why do you have the knowledge that is needed for this particular mission?"

* * *

"So, I really am going to stay with you forever?"   
  
"Yes you are," Morgan smiled kindly at Olivia; it was about the fifth time now the girl had asked her that same question.   
  
"But are you really my mama now? Because I still love my real mama and I don't want her to go away forever."   
  
"Sweetie, I know you miss your mother. And I don't expect you to call me 'mum' until you're ready. You can just call me Morgan for now, I don't mind."   
  
Olivia nodded gravely, as she held Tristan close, "that's ok. I don't want to make my mama sad because she thinks I forgot her."   
  
Morgan tried to keep the wave of sorrow from showing on her face. She wanted Olivia to really be her daughter, but she knew she would have to wait. She would never rush the girl into accepting her new family, even though it hurt her to not be able to claim the girl as her own. Before she could come up with a suitable response to Olivia's last remark the girl came up with another question.   
  
"What am I going to do now that I live with you? I went to school in Hogsmeade."   
  
Morgan was thankful for the change of topic, "you'll still have school here, we're getting you a tutor."   
  
Olivia wrinkled her nose, "I'm not sure I like that idea, I liked my old class and teacher, can't I go back there?"   
  
Morgan fought a smile, during the day Olivia was turning out to be a bright and serious opinionated little thing, such a far cry from the miserable way she cried herself to sleep every night. "You won't be the only one, there will be several others sharing the tutor with you, it'll just be like having a really small class."   
  
"Really, who?" Olivia looked up excitedly.   
  
Morgan bit her lip, she had yet to see the child smile, but this look of excitement was definitely an improvement. She vaguely remembered Severus making a comment about the elasticity of youth, and that they should be thankful Olivia was still so young as it would be an easier transition for her. She had found it cold and unfeeling at the time, but she now wondered at the truth of it. "Well, let's see... there is Clara and then Meg's Cassandra will be there, but they're two years older than you. But Diana is your age, so I'm sure you'll be working together on your lessons."   
  
"Another girl my age? Can we play together sometime?"   
  
"Mmm-hmmm... I think we can arrange that," she absently wondered what Severus would think if their living room was overrun by six-year olds, but decided it would be best to find out after the fact. She lost herself for a few moments, remembering when the rest of her children had been this young; it seemed like forever ago... She was brought out of her reverie by a pair of small arms encircling her waist.   
  
"I'm glad I'm staying with you Morgan. I miss my mama and daddy, but you're very nice, I think they'd like you."

* * *

Eva shrugged, "I always grew up working around potions, and I had access to a rather extensive library."   
  
Severus narrowed his eyes, "where exactly in Germany are you from?"   
  
Eva shrugged and answered ambiguously, "Norddeutschland."   
  
"You grew up by St Petri's didn't you?"   
  
"Yes, I am familiar with the monastery."   
  
"They have one of the most complete libraries of medieval and ancient sources. You know what they're planning to bring Voldemort back, don't you?"   
  
Eva nodded slowly, "have you ever heard of Quintessence?"   
  
Severus tapped his fingers on the stone counter top, "dear god, would they really attempt that? But how, it hasn't been made in centuries, it's supposed to be one of the most difficult potions ever created, and the instructions have been lost for..."  
  
"I have the directions; I found them, scribbled on a scrap of parchment stuck between the pages of the Timaeus."   
  
"They're supposed to be encoded."   
  
"I've spent the last five years deciphering the code."   
  
"Miss Bhaer, I believe we shall have no problems working together."

* * *

"I'm sorry our trip was cut short, I would have liked to spend more time with you in Greece."   
  
"Why? We spend time together here," Remus said as he lifted Kalliope's hand to his lips.   
  
"It's not the same."   
  
"How is it different? We're both her together, you're the only thing that matters to me right now..."  
  
"It's different because I don't know when I'll be able to return to the temple. It's the only home I've ever known and now..."  
  
"And now?"   
  
"And now I'm giving it up for you. You're worth it Remus, it just takes some getting used to."   
  
"For some reason that doesn't sound like the assertive, outspoken, feminist priestess I know..."  
  
Kalliope smacked him, "just because I'm starting to like the idea of being a married woman does not mean that I've changed. Besides, everyone knows that women are really the dominant ones in any union."   
  
"Is that so? Do you really still fancy yourself to be the dominant one in this relationship?"   
  
Kalliope frowned at him, "we're supposed to be patrolling the hallways."   
  
"I'm pretty sure I can harass you and patrol at the same time."   
  
"I'm serious wizard, shape up now or else."   
  
"You're not Sirius, I'm pretty sure that you're Kalliope."   
  
Kalliope rolled her eyes, "what has gotten into you tonight? We're in the middle of a crisis and all you can do is make bad puns. You're worrying me Remus."   
  
Remus sighed as he gathered her in his arms, "just trying to find an outlet for all the stress," he smiled sadly, "there are rough days ahead, if I can't keep a sense of humor I may go mad."   
  
Kalliope shook her head, "I have no worries about you going mad wizard, you have me here to keep you in line."

* * *

"I feel like all I do lately is worry."

"Why is that?"   
  
Morgan sighed and snuggled closer to her husband as she stared into the cheery flames of the fire in the hearth, "Dierna is going to worry herself sick over Stefan, Serena is still sulking over that cat, I don't know what Kamen has been up to lately but I doubt its anything I want to know about, Nimue is still fighting her visions, Olivia may never truly accept me as her mother and she's still scared of you, we're on the brink of war, my husband is one of the enemy's main targets, and you ask why I'm worried?"   
  
Severus sighed, "We'll make it through this somehow, we have before."   
  
"But I..."  
  
Severus silenced her with a wave of his hand, "aren't you supposed to be in bed?" He heard a small gasp behind him, "well come out here now that you're up." He looked questioningly at Olivia as she came around to the front of the couch, "well?"   
  
Olivia swiped at her red eyes, "I had a bad dream, I saw it happen again, how they killed my parents..." she sniffed, "am I in trouble?"   
  
"Why on earth would you think you are in trouble child?" Severus asked in clipped tones.   
  
"'Cause I'm out of bed..."  
  
"Of course you're not in trouble sweetie," Morgan jumped in, "would you like me to come in and sit with you until you fall asleep again?"   
  
Olivia shook her head violently, she was afraid the nightmares would come back again, "no, I'm scared to go to sleep again, and it's too dark in there." She clutched Tristan a bit tighter as she looked at Morgan with pleading eyes.   
  
Morgan made a mental note to come up with a nightlight and was going to perhaps suggest some dreamless sleep potion when Severus intervened. In one smooth motion he wrapped a blanket around Olivia and her constant companion Tristan and deposited the tiny girl in his lap.   
  
Severus looked down to find Olivia staring up at him with large eyes, "What?" he frowned slightly when she didn't answer but wrapped his arms a bit more securely around her, "go to sleep, I'll put you back in bed after awhile."   
  
Olivia continued to stare at him wide eyed for a few minutes; she was still a bit scared of him. She looked over at Morgan for reassurance and when she got a nod of approval she relaxed, leaning against Severus as her eyelids became heavy and she started to drift off.   
  
Morgan smiled gently at the pair and waited until Olivia was once again asleep before informing her husband that she didn't doubt that this new little one would have him wrapped around her finger before too long.

* * *

"What do you think about this whole thing mate?" Kamen asked as they prepared to leave the latest meeting of the Grigorian Brotherhood.   
  
William shrugged, "not quite what I was expecting, but it seems fine to me. What about you?"   
  
"I know my dad would hit the rough if he found out, but I don't mind it. It looks kinda cool," Kamen said as he rolled up his sleeve to examine the tattoo that now adorned his left arm. He traced a finger over the black markings, which formed a shield with the words "corvus invigilat Britannia et plebicola est" written in the middle of it. "I like what it stands for; I think we're doing the right thing."   
  
"So why is this a secret?"   
  
Kamen shook his head, "can you imagine the reaction our parents would have? Secret society, a tattoo, passwords... the only thing they're going to think about is death eaters; they won't think about that this group is doing the right thing. You're not trying to back out, are you Will?"   
  
"Of course not, I just figured one of us should try to be the voice of reason."   
  
Kamen shrugged, "whatever. I'm not worried at all. We're doing the right thing."

* * *

Severus cursed as he looked at the papers that still needed to be graded sitting on his desk. The students would be returning tonight and he needed to get through them, however, he was not in the mood to read whatever drabble it was that his students tried to pass off as acceptable work. He started in on the stack, but found he had trouble concentrating. He kept thinking about the list of worries Morgan had confessed to him the night before, and he realized there was relatively little he could do to make her feel better. He looked up as the door creaked open.   
  
"You wanted to see me Dad?" Serena looked in.   
  
Severus nodded as he set aside his quill and came around to the front of his desk. He awkwardly cleared his throat as his daughter looked at him expectantly, "I feel badly about your cat, and I feel responsible for what happened. If those damned..." he stopped, trying to figure out what he should say, "I wanted to make it up to you." He reached behind his desk and retrieved a tiny sand colored kitten with a ridiculously large blue bow the damned meddling clerk at the creature shop in Diagon Alley had insisted on tying around its neck.   
  
Serena dropped her eyes, "you didn't have to get me a cat."   
  
"I thought you would like it."   
  
"But you hate cats."   
  
Severus silently cursed himself realizing that Serena probably didn't want another mangy beast taking the place of that ball of fur she had loved so much. He regretted not talking this over with his wife first, "it is no matter," he set the kitten down on top of his desk, "I'll take it back."  
  
Serena chewed her lip as she continued to stare at the floor. She knew her father meant well, but she didn't want to replace her darling Bastet. "Dad I..." she paused in indecision as she watched the kitten roll over and try to chew at the bow around its neck, "I'm glad you got me a new cat, I'll just take her up to my room now." As much as she was hesitant about taking it, she didn't want to hurt her father.   
  
Severus sighed in relief, perhaps he hadn't messed up as much as he feared, "well then," he looked up as Eva slipped into the room, "take your cat and go, I have work to get done."   
  
"I brought my notes on Quintessence, I'd thought we'd go over them and get started."   
  
Severus nodded curtly as he took the paper from her and glanced over it "'Quintessence," he read, "Has the power to restore those addled in the mind to their former state. It derives its purity from the grace of God almighty..." he raised an eyebrow.  
  
Eva shrugged "the wizard who created Quintessence happened to be a Benedictine monk."   
  
Severus shook his head and looked back down at the paper, he frowned, "it's a serious of numbers... 18, 11, 3, 11, 6, 22, 8, 7, 2, 3, 11, 18, 11, 6... this makes no sense."   
  
"It does if you have the code."   
  
Severus looked at her expectantly, "and the code is..."  
  
"The letters of the alphabet are each assigned a number. That was the hard part, since the manuscript is in Latin I was looking for a Latin key. I finally stumbled across the key, which is in German, several years ago thanks to a side note on the manuscript, here look at this" she handed him a piece of paper, reciting what was on it as he read, "'Denn also hat Gott die Welt geliebt, dass er seinen einzigen Sohn gab, auf das alle, die an ihn glauben, nicht verloren werden, sondern das ewige Legen haben.' The order in which the letters of the alphabet appear in that verse is the number they are assigned and then the remaining letters are assigned numbers in descending order, so..."  
  
"So," Severus quickly caught on, ", 11, 3, 11, 6, 22, 8, 7, 2, 3, 11, 18, 11, 6 is cinis phoenicis, ash of a phoenix..." he frowned as he looked at the list of numbers, alga mare nostrum, that's easy enough to get, ungula draconis, I have that in my stores." He frowned, "terra sacri speulcri... this is a Christian text, is there any specification on what kind of holy grave the earth has to come from?"   
  
Eva shrugged, "I don't know. The only thing on the list that might cause problems is the 'blood of an unwilling virgin' part. It sounds suspiciously like dark magic to me..."  
  
Severus shook his head, "no its not. Consider the source, we're probably dealing with an author who consulted the Hippocratic Corpus and Soranus, they would have thought nothing about bleeding someone."   
  
Eva nodded thoughtfully, "so where do we begin?"   
  
Severus gestured towards his personal supply cabinet, "set aside everything we need, I'll tell Minerva to set aside the ashes from Fawkes' next burning day and we'll have to figure out where to procure the rest of the ingredients on the list."   
  
Eva paused, "Professor, we will have to test this eventually, to make sure we got it right..."

"I already thought of that."   
  
"How are we going to test it?"   
  
"I have a friend at St. Mungo's who I am sure will assist us in finding someone to test it on."


	61. Chapter 61

"Nick!" Dierna threw her arms around her friend's neck, "I missed you!"   
  
"Missed you too hon," Nick responded as he dropped a kiss on her cheek and grabbed Serena with his free arm, "I missed both my girls..."  
  
Dierna rolled her eyes, "don't start getting sentimental on us now Wood, I'm not sure if I can handle that coming from you."   
  
"Well I'm going to go back up to the Common Room and finish the homework that I haven't done yet. Anyone want to join me?"   
  
"Nope, already finished mine. Besides, I think some of the boys are planning a party tonight, I think me and Kandi were planning on crashing it."   
  
Nick shrugged, "I'll go with you Serena, I have some homework to finish too." He took her hand and passed it through the crook of his arm, "allow me to escort you up lady fair?"   
  
Serena rolled her eyes but grinned, besides her twin he was her best friend, "not quite a knight in shining armor, but I suppose you'll do."   
  
"I'm hurt, I try so hard to please you girls and this is the treatment I get," he shook his head despondently.   
  
Serena only rolled her eyes at him and conversation drifted onto quidditch as they made their way up to the Gryffindor Common Room. They finally settled themselves onto the rug in front of the fire, with their books spread out around them.   
  
"Hey Nick, did you finish the Charms homework yet? I'm having troubles with it." She looked at him and frowned at the way he was looking at her, "Nick, you there mate?" The next thing she knew Nick's arm was around her as he brushed his lips across hers.   
  
"What just happened?" Serena asked as Nick pulled away.   
  
"Something I've wanted to do for a long time."   
  
Serena looked at him for a long moment before nodding, "alright then. I think I like this development."

* * *

Dierna made her way down to the dungeons to return a book she had borrowed from her father. She pushed open the door to his office, and not finding him there, decided to just leave the book on his desk and head back up. But something caught her attention. "Bloody hell..." she muttered as she picked up a stack of notes on his desk. She frowned as she leafed through them.   
  
"What are you doing?"   
  
Dierna looked up at her father, who didn't look to pleased, "you lied to me," she spat out.   
  
"You have not answered my question young lady, what are you doing with those papers?"   
  
She thrust them at him, "you've been lying to me for months," she swore at him, her green eyes dark with rage, "telling me that I was researching something for a bloody Wolfsbane project, but I wasn't! How dare you do that to me! You used me to do your own damn work, and for this?" She gestured at the papers that were now scattered across the floor.   
  
"I suggest you do something about that attitude young lady. I will not be spoken to in that manner," Severus voice was deadly calm.   
  
"How could you lie to me like that Dad? Why didn't you just tell me you were working on..." she glanced down at the remaining papers in her hand, "Quintessence?"   
  
Severus sighed, "Sit down Dierna."   
  
"Not until I get some answers!"   
  
"I'm not going to tell you again. Either sit down so we can discuss this or you can leave."   
  
Dierna grudgingly took a seat in front of her father's desk and looked at him with raised eyebrows, "I'm waiting."   
  
Severus sat down behind his desk and accioed the fallen papers back to him before speaking. "I could not have told you if I wanted to Dierna, it would not have been safe."   
  
"For who? It seems a lot meaner to lie to me about it."  
  
"Can I continue without further interruption?" he sneered at her, "I thought it would be safer for you if you could not be linked to this project. Besides, it is Order business... nothing you should be involved in..."  
  
"Why not?! I'm willing to join in the fight against Voldemort and his supporters!"   
  
Severus smiled sadly, "you have no idea what you are saying child."   
  
"I'm not a child."   
  
"You are my daughter, and I will protect you to the best of my ability. And do not bother running up to the library to research Quintessence, I guarantee you that there is nothing there."

"Then tell me. I want to know," Dierna insisted.   
  
Severus felt a headache coming on, why did he give in so easily when his daughters were concerned? "It is a potion that dates back to the early Middle Ages. It has only been brewed once, by its creator. No one else has been able to reproduce it since then. It is supposed to restore the minds of persons who have been driven insane or..."  
  
"Or issued the dementor's kiss?" Dierna asked in a small voice.   
  
"Yes. And although in its original form it is not dark magic it has the potential to be. It calls for the blood of a virgin, but that can be replaced with a human sacrifice. The goal right now is to successfully brew Quintessence so that we can create a way to counter it. Not only is it supposed to restore the mind, but it supposed to have some... powers attached to it. But it is not clearly documented."   
  
Dierna tucked a stray curl behind her ear as she thought, "I'm sorry I yelled at you Dad, but you still should have told me."   
  
Severus shook his head, "what am I going to do with you?"   
  
"Love me forever 'cause I'm your perfect angel?   
  
Severus buried his face in his hands, "get out Dierna! I have had enough of you for one night."   
  
"You sure Dad, 'cause I could stay and bug you for awhile longer, it wouldn't be a problem..."  
  
Severus saw past the teasing demeanor and caught the undertone of hurt in Dierna's voice. "Adelaide, believe me, I would have told you if I could. But, up until this week even I did not know exactly what we were working on. I was just taking shots in the dark to try to come up with a solution; it was Eva that had the instructions for Quintessence."   
  
Dierna scowled "I suppose that's a reasonable excuse... but I expect to know what I am working on from now on."   
  
Severus' eyebrows shot up, "you are in no position to be making demands young lady. You will be told what you need to know when you need to know it."   
  
"And why is that?" she shook her hair back as she leveled him with a cool glare.   
  
"Because I said so."   
  
"That's not a reason!"  
  
"It's the only reason you need to concern yourself with, and you would do well to remember it."

* * *

"Are you ready for your first day with your new tutor?" Morgan asked the next morning.   
  
"I suppose... but what if she doesn't like me?" Olivia asked worriedly.   
  
Morgan took the girl's face between her hands, "that is the last thing you need to worry about sweetie, I'm sure you'll get along just fine."   
  
Olivia looked down at her hands, "will you walk me to where we're having class Morgan? My mama always walked me to school in Hogsmeade and I liked it, and I..." she started to sniff as tears filled her blue eyes.   
  
"Shhhhh... calm down sweetie. Of course I will walk you to your classroom, and either myself or Severus will be there to walk you back at the end of the day." She didn't mention that this was more for her own peace of mind about Olivia's safety than for the girl's comfort. "Would you like that?"   
  
"Yes ma'am. And there's really going to be other girls for me to play with?" Olivia stressed this last part; she had lost so many people she knew due to the attack on Hogsmeade. Morgan took it as a positive sign that she was looking forward to meeting new people instead of growing distant.

"Of course there will be darling; I told you there would be. Now, let's get going, don't want to be late, do we?" she said with a wink.   
  
Olivia slipped her hand into Morgan's as they made their way through the school's many hallways to the previously unused classroom that had been set aside to have class for the little ones.   
  
"Here we are," Morgan announced as she pushed open the door. She noticed that Meg's daughters, Diana and Cassandra, were already there, along with Clara. "Go, and have fun," she said, giving her adopted daughter a gentle push. "Arabella," she looked up with a smile, "how did you get talked into this job?"   
  
Arabella Figg, wearing a set of robes that looked suspiciously like an old oriental rug, threw her hands into the air, "I don't know! Honestly, never saw myself as a teacher for primary students. But, I know I'm only a squib, and I said I'd do anything I could for the Order, and if that means being a teacher for the children of fellow members than so be it."   
  
Morgan grinned, "at least you only have four of them, I have to go face a whole classroom full."   
  
Arabella gave a snort, "true, true, won't fight you on this one. I just... well the thing is Morgan, I fell bad about this arrangement. If there should be an attack I can't use magic to defend the little dears. And I know that Minerva has arranged so that there are always several house elves watching this room and that their magic would be enough to turn back any attack, but I still wish I could do something."  
  
"I know, but we have to do the best we can during times like this. To be honest with you, I know that several fully trained witches and wizards were interviewed for this position. But, you were the only person we trusted enough with the children, we know that you're on our side."   
  
"Well child, I thank you for that confidence, means a lot to me," Arabella ran a hand over her grizzled grey hair, "you're right. We've got to do the best we can with what we got."

* * *

"You ok kid?" Kamen sent a sideways glance at Dierna, "or let me put it this way, do you remember anything about last night?"   
  
Dierna groaned as she put her head in her hands. She remembered coming back up from the dungeons to find her twin and Nick snogging in the Common Room. That development had done nothing to improve her mood, and she had immediately sought out her brother and his friends, who were throwing a party. "How much did I drink?" she asked miserably.   
  
"You probably don't want to know."   
  
"That much?"   
  
"Yep."   
  
"I feel horrible..."  
  
"Been there before, you're just lucky I was there to watch you kid. You tried to leave the Tower last night, who knows how much trouble you would have been in if I hadn't been there to stop you."   
  
"Thanks Kamen. You know, you can actually be decent sometimes."   
  
"Don't let that get around; don't want to ruin my reputation. And speaking of reputations... I see a certain Head Girl that I need to go speak to. Try not to pass out in class Dierna, and try not to look hung over."  
  
Dierna scowled at her oatmeal as breakfast continued, debating whether or not she could keep it down. She decided to abandon it altogether when Serena and Nick showed up holding hands. That was definitely more than she could handle this morning.

* * *

"Come on, it'll be fun."   
  
"I'm not sure Angie..."  
  
"Nimue, you never want to do anything," her dorm mate insisted. "What about you Ophelia, you want to come?"   
  
"Well..." Ophelia started uncertainly, "it does sound fun, especially if we don't get caught."   
  
Nimue worried her lower lip. She wasn't sure what to do. On one hand she wanted to go with her friends, but on the other hand she never did anything that could get her in trouble, "I suppose..."  
  
"Great!" Angie smiled, "we'll go after dinner, no one will miss us then."   
  
"Don't worry Nimue," Ophelia reassured her best friend, "I'm sure nothing will happen."

* * *

"I thought Morgan was coming to get me," Olivia said as her eyes widened.   
  
"She was, unfortunately, delayed, so you will have to deal with me."   
  
"Oh... ok." Olivia was still staring up at Severus uncertainly; she didn't know what to think about him. Morgan was nice, and seemed like a good mother, but Severus was still a bit intimidating to her.

"Well come along, I have work to get done," Severus said a bit impatiently as he headed off down the hallway. Olivia had to practically run so that her short legs could keep up with his long strides. He looked down to see her trotting to keep up with him and slowed his pace a bit. He cleared his throat, "how were your lessons today?"   
  
Olivia stared down at the floor, "good," she mumbled shyly.   
  
"What did you do?" Severus fought to keep up a conversation with this girl who was now his daughter.   
  
"Stuff."  
  
"Elaborate please," it was a command, not a request.   
  
"Mrs. Figg gave us some tests so that she can know what we already know, and then we did a project, and she read us part of a story. I liked it," Olivia quickly ducked her head. That was the most she'd ever talked to the Professor. "Professor?"   
  
"Hmmm?"   
  
"Can I bring Tristan with me tomorrow?"   
  
Severus raised an eyebrow, "what did Morgan say about that?"   
  
Olivia wouldn't meet his gaze, "she said he should stay in my room so that nothing would happen to him."   
  
"I think that is a good idea."   
  
"Oh..." Olivia was clearly disappointed. She gasped when suddenly her feet left the floor and she was lifted over several stairs. Her eyes were enormous when she looked up at Severus as he set her back down.   
  
"There's a disappearing step there, I do not need you getting stuck in it when I have work to get done," he told her as he continued to hurry her down the staircase.   
  
Olivia didn't say anything, but continued to hurry alongside Severus down the hallway. They were down in the dungeons, close to Severus' office, when the Bloody Baron floated through a wall and stopped the Professor to talk. Olivia was startled, and before she could think about what she was doing she instinctively slid her small hand into Severus' large one.   
  
Severus looked down in surprise at Olivia. He was not at all put out by her action it just took him off guard. At the same time Olivia realized what she had done and tried to retrieve her hand, but to no avail. Severus gripped her hand firmly, and pulled the little girl a bit closer to him as he continued his conversation with the Baron.   
  
When the Baron continued on his way, floating down the hallway, Severus led Olivia to his office to collect a stack of papers, and then back to their living chambers. Olivia promptly ran to her bedroom to retrieve Tristan and a book.   
  
"What is so special about that rabbit child?" Severus asked as he eyed the stuffed toy, which looked rather worse for wear, disdainfully.   
  
"I've had him since I was born, my parents gave him to me," Olivia answered softly. She hesitated a minute, looking close to terrified as she asked in a small voice, "can me and Tristan sit with you?"   
  
"Of course," Severus fought a smile as the girl scrabbled up next to him on the couch and settled in, still clutching Tristan tightly, and looking at her picture book. Severus turned his attention back to the papers he was grading, but was almost immediately interrupted by a whirring noise as a modified sneakoscope sitting on the mantel went off. "Damn..." he looked down at Olivia, "I am needed in the Slytherin Common Room. While I am gone you are not to leave these rooms under any circumstances, and do not let anyone in. The only people who should be in here know the password and how to drop the wards. Is that clear?"

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Nimue asked.   
  
"Of course, it'll be fun," Angie answered.   
  
"Ophelia?"   
  
"I'm in."   
  
Nimue looked between her dorm mates and nodded, "then lets go, I guess I'm in too."   
  
"This'll be so wicked!" Angie exclaimed in a whisper as they made their way out of Gryffindor Tower and out a side exit into the cold night air, wrapping their cloaks tightly around them. "But it would be better if we had an invisibility cloak..."  
  
"What are we going to do if we get caught?" Nimue asked worriedly.   
  
"Simple," Angie snapped her fingers, "we don't get caught."  
  
"What exactly is so great about a baby dragon that we're trying to get ourselves frozen out here in the dark?" Ophelia asked, her teeth chattering.   
  
"Because its gonna be absolutely wicked! Trust me girls."

* * *

"Eva, do you have a minute?"  
  
"Ja, was ist los?"   
  
"Well, I was wondering... you're a beautiful and talented woman, who I admire greatly."   
  
"You hardly know me," she laughed.   
  
"True," Alberto gave her a roguish smile, "but what little I know of you I like."   
  
"Is this going somewhere?"   
  
"Eventually... I was wondering if you would like to enjoy my presence on a bit more personal level some night. Maybe a private dinner... a romantic walk around the school..."

* * *

"Angie, you were right, this is wicked," Ophelia breathed in the cold air as they leaned on a snow bank, watching the scene below them.   
  
"It is really cute," Nimue crooned. She watched as the adult Common Welsh Green nuzzled the newly hatched baby with her snout.   
  
"I told you!" Angie told them triumphantly.   
  
"Maybe we should go back in, I don't want to get caught out here," Ophelia whispered.   
  
"Too late..." Angie muttered as a shadow fell over them.   
  
"What would three little Gryffindors be doing out of their dorms and outside on a cold winter night?" a raspy voice asked.   
  
Nimue gasped as she realized this wasn't anyone from the school. This was much worse than any of her fears about getting caught and in trouble, this could mean their lives.   
  
Angie, always the brazen one of the group, leapt to her feet and put her hands on her hips, "what do you want with us?" she demanded.   
  
"It's not what I want, you filthy mudblood-loving Gryffindors, it is what my master wants. And he is looking for collateral. I think you'll do nicely," he pulled his wand before any of the three girls could react and instantly had Angie in a full body bind. "Are you other two going to come quietly, or do I have to bind you as well?"   
  
Ophelia and Nimue violently shook their heads no, and slowly rose to their feet. Both girls realized that it was better to stay free; at least they had a chance that way. The girls and their captor jumped when the Welsh Green, which was near by, let out a mournful shriek.   
  
"I don't have time for this," the man hissed. He quickly grabbed Ophelia in a bruising grip and reached for Nimue.   
  
"No!" Nimue felt as though she screamed it, but it came out a strangled whisper. She put her hands out in front of her to ward off the death eater as he tried to grab her. She made a low growling noise in her throat, intent of defending herself as best she could. But shrieked as a knife like pain cut through her, and she fell to the ground.

* * *

Kalliope bolted up from where she had been lying next to Remus, breathing heavily, "Remus, I need to you go outside, something has happened."   
  
"What is it?" Remus asked as he tried to pull her back down.   
  
She pushed him away, "Go! You're the one that's still dressed, I'll join you shortly. But go now before something happens that could destroy us all!"


	62. Chapter 62

"Nimue?" Ophelia rolled her friend over from where she had collapsed in the snow, "Nimue please be alright," she whispered. Ophelia looked around desperately, trying to figure out what to do. She reached for her wand and lifted the body bind from Angie, who quickly joined her kneeling over Nimue's still form.  
  
Nimue felt as though her head had been beat with a hammer as she opened her eyes slowly, "what happened?" she murmured.   
  
"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Ophelia shrieked. "You tell us what happened! You're the one who did that," she pointed, with a shaking hand, to the charred corpse of the death eater who had threatened them.   
  
"How did I..."  
  
"All I know is that he grabbed me, and then went for you. And when he tried to grab you this purple... thing... it was all shimmery, like an electric shield or something, surround you. And when he touched it he dropped me, and then he was like... that."   
  
"I killed him..." Nimue could barely breathe. She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, staring blankly off into the darkness, "I killed him..."  
  
The three girls clung to each other, shaking, as they tried to take what had happened. They all jumped when they heard a shout, and saw several figures coming towards them at a run.

* * *

"What are you two up to?" Morgan asked as she dropped a stack of books on the table.

Severus looked up, "I was beginning to worry about you, what took you so long to get back?"   
  
"We'll discuss it later," Morgan said, nodding her head in Olivia's direction. This was not a conversation she wanted the child to hear. Apparently several death eaters had been found in the Forbidden Forest.   
  
Severus locked eyes with his wife, trying to figure out what she was keeping from him. "I think," he said evenly, "that it's someone's bedtime."

* * *

"What were you girls thinking coming out here at night?!" Charlie snapped as he, Remus, Harry, and Zach led the three girls back towards the school. They would come back to deal with the corpse later. So far they had gotten the basic story out of Ophelia and Angie, but Nimue had yet to say anything.   
  
"We didn't think..." Angie started.   
  
"You're damn right you didn't think!" Charlie interceded, "Do you realize how dangerous this little escapade of yours was? You could have easily been killed, if not by a death eater, than by one of those dragons. What do you think your father is going to say when he hears about this?" He tightened his grip on his niece's arm slightly.   
  
Ophelia chanced a glance at her own father, who looked more worried than angry at the moment. She hoped that would last.   
  
"We're glad you're safe," Remus calmly inserted, "but that does not excuse the fact that you snuck out of the school." He wasn't surprised to find Kalliope waiting for them when they entered the school. "I want you girls back in your dorm now, we'll decide exactly what is going to be done with you later, once everyone has had a chance to calm down," he shot a meaningful look at Charlie.   
  
"Nimue, come with me please," Kalliope softly commanded.   
  
Nimue shot a longing look at her friends before turning towards the priestess, "I didn't mean to kill him," she muttered miserably. "What's going to happen to me?" tears were freely flowing down her face.   
  
"I won't let anything happen to you child, but you need to understand what happened tonight," Kalliope took her by the hand and let them into an empty classroom. "First, I owe you an apology child. I have not been entirely truthful with you. Some of it was because I thought I could protect you, and another part was that there are just certain things I cannot tell one who is not initiated. You need to understand that good and evil are relative terms," she sighed, "the point is child; you have powers that very few in the magical world exhibit."   
  
"Like what?" Nimue sniffed.   
  
"The gift of prophecy for one, and you showed another one tonight. You managed, though it may have been subconscious, to protect yourself from that man tonight. You may not have meant to kill him, but your will to survive was so strong that you did whatever was necessary to save yourself and your friends."   
  
"Is this something to do with the goddess?"   
  
Kalliope sighed again, "that, child, is a difficult question. I think I need to explain to you how these things work. Throughout history humans have given the immortals certain attributes and characteristics. While many of us only recognize one goddess, who may be worshiped in different forms, there are still a few who recognize each of her personalities as separate entities. Over the centuries the priestesses have had to accommodate themselves to deal with... inconsistencies."   
  
"Are you saying that you've lied to me?! Does this goddess even exist, or deal in the mortal world?"   
  
"Yes, she does! But she does not always make her presence known. This is a question of faith child, not one of fact. But, I wonder if I haven't asked too much of you, perhaps you are not ready for all of this..." Kalliope thought for a moment, "the goddess is not always kind and forgiving, she is also vengeful and violent when she needs to be."   
  
"And so, just as there are dark and light sides to the goddess, so there are dark and light sides to women. That's why I killed that man tonight." Nimue shuddered.   
  
"You learn quickly child, even though I am not the best teacher."   
  
"I'm not sure if I like the idea of a vengeful goddess."   
  
"Nimue, the goddess has many different sides, and different cultures have explained her differently. I want you to consider Gefjon, perhaps she will be a way for you to come to terms with the goddess. I think you will understand her, and if you see the goddess in that light, perhaps this whole business will be easier for you."   
  
"Will I have to kill again?" Nimue was desperate, she wasn't sure if she wanted to have any part of this whole priestess thing now.   
  
"You will do as the goddess bids you."

* * *

"Charlie, darling, please calm down," Meg kept her voice low and soothing as she tried to talk him out of the rage he had worked himself into. She had learned that the red hair the Weasleys were known for was accompanied by a rather violent temper at times.   
  
"Meg, I don't know what those girls were thinking tonight, but if Lupin doesn't put them in at least a month's worth of detentions, I sure as hell will!"   
  
"I know you're worried about them love, but they are safe now. We can all be thankful that nothing worse happened. Besides, I think they've had enough of a scare to last them for quite awhile."   
  
Charlie sat down on the edge of the bed and buried his face in his hands, "maybe we should rethink the dragons as a security measure. They are obviously a lure to the students to sneak out, and when I think what could have happened if the girls had gone any closer to that Common Green and her baby..."  
  
Meg perched on the bed next to her husband and wrapped her arms around him, "the dragons are the reason that the rest of the death eaters in the forest didn't get onto the school grounds."   
  
"I know, I just... how could I face Fred, or the rest of my family, if anything had happened to the girls tonight? Let alone Severus and Harry... what if our own children decide to do something like that, the dragons just may be too big a risk factor."   
  
"Yes, they do have an uncanny appreciation for dragons. I wonder who they could have gotten that from?" Meg tightened her hold on her husband and kissed him soundly, "I'm glad you care enough about your family and the students to get his upset, but I think that you just need a good night's sleep and you'll be a little bit more rational about this in the morning."   
  
"I think I could use more than sleep," Charlie pressed a kiss to the top of his wife's head.   
  
"Whatever are you thinking of Mr. Weasley?" Meg asked sweetly.   
  
"Give me about two minutes to make sure the children are sleeping and this room is soundproofed and I'll show you."

* * *

"Why do we have girls?"   
  
Morgan hid a smile, "that would be your fault Sev darling."   
  
He scowled, "they are too much trouble."   
  
Morgan shook her head, "that's not nice Sev. I know things are not going particularly well now, but..."  
  
"But nothing," he glared out the window at the bleak February morning, "Dierna is going to drive me over the edge. All she does is hang around the dungeons claiming that Serena and Nick don't have time for her anymore. Serena... I'm not going to even start about what I think of her dating someone, especially when they could be doing Circe knows what up in the Gryffindor Tower. Nimue has drawn completely into herself since that attack. I don't think I've heard her speak two words together since then."   
  
"And of course your son isn't any problem at all," Morgan shot back acerbically.   
  
"I did not say that."   
  
"But you implied it. And I'm worried about him Sev. That boy hasn't caused any trouble since Christmas, and I'm afraid that means that he is up to something."   
  
Severus shrugged, "I'll ask him, but I doubt he'll tell me. By the way, Eric is coming to the school for a few days to help with Quintessence."   
  
"Do you trust him enough to allow him in the school? I know how you feel about that man."   
  
"We don't have much choice. I'm not thrilled about it and I doubt Zach will be pleased. But we have to set aside our differences if we are going to defeat Voldemort once and for all."   
  
Morgan uncurled herself from the bed and moved to place a hand against her husband's forehead, "you feeling alright Sev? It's not like you to be this congenial towards Eric... here I thought I was married to a complete ogre, I think you've gone soft." she grinned impishly.   
  
Her husband scowled at her, "Morgan Elaine..."  
  
"Pulling out my middle name? I must be in trouble," Morgan interceded. "Perhaps you still are the vile, slimy, git that everyone insists you are. Maybe I should have run off with Oliver Wood when I had the chance..."  
  
He continued to glower and crossed his arms over his chest, but said nothing.   
  
Morgan looked down at the floor, and then up again, a bit warily, to meet Severus' black eyes, "I shouldn't have teased you," she conceded. She had known what a dangerous mood her husband was in, and realized that perhaps the teasing hadn't been one of her brightest ideas. She waited to see if he was truly mad at her, these days she just couldn't seem to tell. They were all on edge with the increasing attacks, nerves had become frayed and tempers were rather short.   
  
Severus continued to glare at his wife for several seconds, which felt like an eternity to Morgan, before gently taking her face between his hands and kissing her rather forcibly. "I love you dearly Morgan, but I want you to know that I was this close to upending you over my knee for that. I think it is fair to say that I usually put up with your teasing with good grace, and even enjoy it on occasion. But not now, I have too much on my mind."   
  
"I'm sorry Sev," Morgan wrapped her arms around his waist and was immensely grateful when the embrace was returned, "I'm just worried and scared and..." she broke off as a sob caught in her throat.   
  
"And looking for an outlet for all that frustration," Severus finished for her.   
  
"I feel so helpless sometimes," Morgan mumbled as she buried her face in the front of her husband's shirt. "And it's just not fair! Haven't we suffered enough grief to last us for a lifetime?!"   
  
Severus sighed deeply and held his wife a bit closer, "I'm worried about you. You're under far too much stress, have barely slept in days, and are about to fall to pieces. I'm tempted to slip something in your pumpkin juice that will knock you out for the next three days so that you can at least get caught up on your sleep. Care to tell me what brought on this little outburst?"

* * *

Angie, Nimue, and Ophelia sat silently at the Gryffindor table, only picking at their breakfasts. Ever since their nighttime escapade the week before they had been a rather subdued group. Angie had gotten a rather longwinded letter from her parents over her part in the adventure, and was just thankful it hadn't been a howler. Ophelia still couldn't look her father in the eye after the one-sided discussion he had directed at her. And Nimue wasn't talking to anyone. She was stuck in an internal battle over the fact that she had actually killed a man.   
  
"I'm going to the library," Nimue announced as she pushed away from the table and hurried out of the Great Hall.   
  
"I'm worried about her," Ophelia muttered as she played with her toast. "She's miserable."   
  
Meanwhile, Nimue reached the library, and sunk down at one of the tables. She buried her face in her hands, "I can't do this anymore," she said to herself, "I don't want to keep going."   
  
Kalliope silently watched Nimue, unobserved from her place among the bookshelves, and steeled herself for what she knew she had to do. She slipped out of the library and down towards the dungeons, intent of finding Professor Snape. He was the one she had to convince. She whispered a word of thanks to her goddess when she found him alone in his office, "Professor, a word."   
  
Severus looked up, after letting Morgan cry herself out in his arms earlier he had rather been hoping to avoid the fairer sex for awhile, "this had better be important priestess," he snapped, "I have a lot of grading to get done."   
  
Kalliope, always adept at concealing her emotions, swept forward determinedly, giving away nothing of her intent, "I wish to discuss your daughter, I am worried about her."   
  
"That has been on my mind as well, I'm not sure how eager I am for her sessions with you to continue. The girl is miserable."   
  
"She is only miserable because she doesn't fully understand."   
  
"Because of your teaching my daughter killed a man and it is tearing her apart!"   
  
"And I want to help fix that, I want her to return to Greece with me."   
  
"Absolutely not."   
  
"I believe it would..."  
  
"I said no! She is my daughter and as such..."  
  
"Do you not care for her mental well being?! She needs further training!"   
  
"She needs to be with her family!" Severus snarled as he rose out of his chair, "you may not understand the seriousness of the situation we are in at the moment priestess," he used a voice that normally was enough to bring any student to tears, "Hogwarts is the safest place to be in the wizarding world, I will keep my daughter where I can protect her."   
  
"You fool! You think I know nothing of the threat these dark forces are?!" Kalliope spat back at him, "I, who had to watch while these wizards slaughtered innocent people, and watched the damnable Draco Malfoy killed my precious daughter. I know exactly what we are up against. Your daughter..."  
  
"SHE STAYS HERE!"   
  
Kalliope made a growling noise deep in her throat, and with a burst of orange flames she was gone.

* * *

Kamen stalked through the hallways moodily. He wanted Celeste Markham and he wanted her now! However, the lady in question had politely refused his request that she go on another date with him. He was accustomed to getting what he wanted, and this did not sit well with the self dubbed 'ladies' man' Snape.   
  
He absolutely refused to ask his sisters for help. He was not ready to sink low enough to admit to needing their guidance when it came to women. He continued to brood as he stormed through the hallways, trying to come up with a plan. He automatically stepped to the side when Eva came around the corner, letting the petit blond by.   
  
Suddenly he stopped, and turned around, "Miss Bhaer, would you help me with a project?" He didn't need his sisters, especially if he had this little German to help him out.

* * *

"And so we meet again child. I must say it is nice to see you out of the infirmary my dear. Now will your tyrannical father be letting you help us out, or is he still trying to protect you from all the evils of the world?" Eric leaned against a cane, a recent acquisition after a run in with one of the less savory inhabitants of his enchanted forest.   
  
Dierna tossed her hair out of her face, "we'll see. Of course it wouldn't hurt if someone were to help me talk him into it..."  
  
Eric wheezed out a dry chuckle, "No need to fake subtlety with me child, I would enjoy working with you. Potions is an art form not fully appreciated by the younger generations, it's very refreshing to see one as young as yourself possess such an innate talent in it, and to put so much passion into it."   
  
Dierna blushed at the praise, "I do love it."   
  
"And I bet your father is very proud of your talent. Parents like to see their children excel in their own passions. Or grandchildren for that matter... I wish I understood Zach's passion for dragons..." his voice grew a bit distant, "perhaps we would get on better then..." he shook his head. "That's enough of personal matters, now tell me child, what are you working on in your private study now?"   
  
"Well, I was researching the properties of hydra bile, and I was thinking that it could be used in place of..."  
  
Severus swept into the classroom, "you, out now!"   
  
"Why?" Dierna scowled at him.   
  
"Because I told you to!" Severus was in a dangerous mood after his 'discussion' with Kalliope. "I have told you before that I do not want you near my family," he spat at Eric.

"Now Severus my boy," Eric started in a low voice, "we were just having a nice conversation; no harm in that now is there?"   
  
"Dad, don't make me leave. Please? I could help..."  
  
Severus glared at both of them, "this is not open for discussion. She leaves. Dierna, do not make me tell you again. I want you to leave now."   
  
Dierna crossed her arms over her chest, "make me." She had no intention of going anywhere if she could help it, especially if they were going to be working on Quintessence.   
  
Severus very slowly counted to ten in his head, "Adelaide, I am in no mood for this kind of childishness from you right now. If I have to physically remove you from this room I promise that you will regret it."  
  
Dierna wasn't her father's daughter for nothing, "I have no intention of going anywhere," she snarled, "considering how long you lied to me about the true nature of this project, it would be the least you could do to let me stay and help."   
  
Severus took several long strides to cross the room, and grabbing his daughter by the arm, unceremoniously dragged her out into the hallway.   
  
"That's not fair!" Dierna was outraged, "you know I have every right to know what is going on!"   
  
"This attitude isn't getting you anywhere. Try again," Severus said in a deadly calm voice.   
  
Dierna looked at him with pleading eyes, "please Dad, I want to help. Please..."  
  
"While I don't appreciate the whining either, I am not opposed to having you help. We need all the extra hands we can get, and I trust your ability in the lab enough to use you. However, right now I need to talk with Eric, and I do not want you around. When Eva comes down and we actually get to work I will let you know."  
  
"Thank you!" Dierna threw her arms around her father and brushed a kiss across his cheek.   
  
"You've gone soft Severus," Eric said from the doorway, "back when I first knew you heads would have rolled before you gave in to anyone."   
  
"I'm wouldn't be opposed to seeing your head roll," Severus growled.   
  
Eric continued as though the potions master hadn't spoken, "I think we can credit your wife with that change," he mused, "I can't imagine what you would do without her. I assure you that hordes of potions students are thankful for whatever she does to you, I've heard that the number of students who leave your class in tears has dwindled over the years."

* * *

"And what, may I ask, is going on here?" Alberto leaned against the wall.   
  
Eva looked up and flashed him a brilliant smile, he was so dark and handsome, and with such a wonderful sense of humor... "We're discussing tactics."   
  
"Tactics? Are you planning a war?"   
  
Eva wrinkled her nose, "nein, this is much more difficult. Kamen wants help in winning over the Head Girl; I'm taking him on as my charity project. Provided that," she fixed Kamen with a meaningful look, "Kamen only has the best intentions at heart. He's promised me that he truly cares about this girl."   
  
"What have you got planned?" Alberto asked as he flopped down in a chair.   
  
Kamen grinned, "She doesn't stand a chance of turning me down, this one is in the bag."


	63. Chapter 63

Eric shook his head slowly as Severus came back into the classroom. "I'm not the only one to know that your family is your weakness. Draco knows it too."   
  
"I'm aware of that," Severus growled.   
  
"Just stating the truth boy, no need to get upset at me about it."   
  
Severus sighed heavily, "what can I do to keep them safe? I'm half tempted to send the children to Beauxbatons or Durmstrang."   
  
Eric inclined his head, "not bad choices. Madame Maxime is an excellent headmistress, and Krum has done a world of good for Durmstrang. But I'd wager that you don't really want to let them out of your sight either."   
  
"No I don't."   
  
"And Nimue would be incredibly safe in Greece."   
  
Severus frowned, "how do you know about that?"   
  
Eric shrugged and looked up at the ceiling, "I have my ways."   
  
"And how much of what you know are you feeding to the enemy?"   
  
"They're not my enemy Severus. The only reason I'm helping with Quintessence is to satisfy my own curiosity. Tom was never really a bad person; I don't know why there are all these attempts to destroy him..."  
  
"He is a murder Eric."   
  
"As are both of us."   
  
"It goes beyond that Eric, he has attempted genocide, and he will again. He'll slaughter the innocent."   
  
"He's family Severus, I can't just abandon him!"   
  
"That shouldn't make a difference. You know what my father was like, and that I did everything I could to distance myself from him."   
  
"That's because he disowned you Severus. Tom is different. He was such a bright boy, and so good at his studies... he did nothing..."  
  
"Stop deluding yourself Eric. You should have distanced yourself from him years ago."   
  
Eric ran a hand over the scarred flesh of his face, "my sister loved him dearly, how can I besmirch her memory by betraying her son?"   
  
Severus' eyes were hard, "he killed Yvonne, how can you forgive him for that?"   
  
Eric sighed as he sank into a chair, "Yvonne... I loved her, I think she's the only one I've ever truly loved..." he closed his eyes as he mind was flooded with memories of the beautiful French ballet girl, with her soft brown hair that ran through his fingers like silk, and her large green eyes that she had lent to their grandson. "It's not her fault she was a muggle."   
  
"To Tom it was," Severus replied with deadly calm, "he killed her because she was a muggle and he didn't want that in the family. I guaranteed you that your grandson may be the next one to go if Tom is returned to power, he's the son of a muggle, Voldemort won't stand to have that in his family."   
  
"You can't ask me choose between my family!"   
  
Severus caught the front of Eric's robes and lifted the old man clear of the ground, "I'm not asking you to choose, I'm telling you that you will do what is right! To hell with your family ties, for once in your life think about what you could do for the common good," Severus set the man back down and spun around as he heard the door creak open. He narrowed his eyes at the door, and then sighed, "I know you're there so you might as well join us."

* * *

Kalliope was still angry. And worried. She paced the confines of her room with mounting frustration. She closed her eyes and felt a small degree of satisfaction when several small glass figurines slammed into the wall and shattered.   
  
"I hope that makes you feel better. Although I'd appreciate it if you checked to see if there was anyone else in the room who might be in danger of being hit by flying projectiles."   
  
Kalliope spun around, "I've told you not to sneak up on me like that," she hissed.   
  
Remus ignored the barb, "the house elves are bringing up dinner for us."   
  
"You can leave; I'm not in the mood for company."   
  
"I'm not leaving Kalliope."   
  
Kalliope made a low growling noise in the back of her throat.   
  
Remus sadly shook his head, "you're so used to fending for yourself that you can't even accept a simple act of kindness. You said yes when I asked you to marry me, which means you're stuck with me. I'm not going to leave you alone when you're this upset."   
  
Kalliope turned away from him, "I just want the girl to be safe, she may be the only chance we have. The temples are dying out. Not only in Greece, but everywhere. In Britain there is only Avalon left, and in the north there is only one temple left in all of Midgard. I don't know what to do."  
  
Remus snaked his arms around Kalliope from behind, "I know you're upset, but I'm here for you and I want you to remember that."   
  
Kalliope leaned her head against his shoulder, "I've never had this before Remus, I'm not used to having someone being here for me all the time. It takes some getting used to."   
  
"Well, priestess, we have all the time in the world."

* * *

Severus took a step towards the door and wrenched it open all the way, "well? What is it child?"   
  
Olivia looked up at him with large eyes, "Morgan told me to find you."   
  
"Why?"   
  
Olivia frowned, "I don't remember."   
  
Severus sighed, "well come in here and sit down." He turned to Eric, "I'm done talking to you, leave."   
  
Eric leaned heavily on his cane as he stomped towards the door. But he paused in the doorway, "Severus, my life has not been one of virtue or morals. I have lived as I have seen fit and by my own standards. Yes I have killed men, I am a murderer. Yes I have played both sides, but that is because those that I care about have been on both sides. While I may not like you Severus, you have reminded me of one thing tonight. Yvonne. She would have wanted me on your side, on our grandson's side. I don't have many years left; I'm going to do what she would have wanted me to."   
  
Severus watched as Eric exited out into the hallway and gave a small smile of satisfaction. It was good to know that his manipulation skills were still up to par.  
  
"He's scary looking," Olivia said.   
  
Severus turned to look at the small six year old who had climbed up into the chair behind his desk. "Did I say you could sit in my chair?"   
  
"You didn't say I couldn't," she replied logically.   
  
Severus' eyebrows shot up, "and how does that make it excusable for you to commandeer my chair?"   
  
Olivia frowned as she tried to figure out what the long words meant, "You didn't say I couldn't," she repeated emphatically.   
  
Severus fought a smile as Olivia continued to frown, "I think its time for you to get ready for bed."   
  
"But it's still early," she whined. Now, in the middle of February, Olivia had become accustomed enough to her new home to start to lose some of the fear that had plagued her before. She still had nightmares about the night Hogsmeade was attacked, but the memories of her parents were slowly starting to fade from her young mind.   
  
"It's eight o'clock, which gives you enough time to for you to get ready for bed and one story before bedtime."   
  
Olivia pouted, "Can't I stay up a little later tonight? Please..."  
  
"No."   
  
"Why?"

"Because I said so."   
  
"Why else?"   
  
Severus was starting to think he almost enjoyed it more when his adopted daughter had still be scared of him, at least she hadn't questioned him then. "That's all the reason you need," he said simply as he scooped her out of his chair.  
  
She giggled as she was lifted up into his arms, "don't you like my questions?" she asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck.   
  
"About as much as I would like being chased by a pack of hippogriffs," was the dry response.   
  
"You don't always act nice, but I like you anyways."

* * *

Severus was beginning to regret his decision to allow Dierna to assist on Quintessence. As he, Eva, and Eric began work the next afternoon he was hoping that his daughter would not show up, but it was not to be. As soon as classes were over she came bounding in, ready to hold him to his promise.   
  
Dierna frowned slightly and muttered something about grunt work and slave labor when she was handed a mortar and pestle and told to make herself useful by grinding beetle wings, but didn't voice her complaints too loudly as she feared losing her chance to at least observe. She watched with interest as the three adults poured over the instructions and conferred over the best way to proceed.   
  
They worked for several hours with little conversation and with a growing amount of tension. Finally Eva set aside the parchment of instructions, "it looks like it's the yellow-green color that it should be at this stage, only one more ingredient and then it has to set for a month before we finish it off."  
  
"Just our 'blood of an unwilling virgin'" Eric said as he slowly stirred the potion.   
  
Eva held out her arm.   
  
"Sorry dear," Eric shook his head, "you just became willing."   
  
Severus frowned as he thought, "I suppose we could procure a donor and then alter their memory."   
  
Eva nodded, "I don't particularly like that idea, but it's our best chance right now."   
  
"We should do it soon," Eric interceded. "Child," he looked over at Dierna, "would you hand me that vile behind you?"   
  
Dierna reached for the vile and held it out to Eric. She gasped when he gripped her wrist with bruising strength, causing the glass container to fall from her hand and shatter on the stone floor. She was too shocked to struggle when he wrenched her arm over the cauldron and produced a knife, which he slashed across her wrist so that the blood flowed.   
  
"Dammit Eric, what in hell do you think you are doing?!" Severus thundered.   
  
"Just finishing off the final step of this part of the potion," Eric said calmly as he picked up his wand and muttered a spell that healed the gash on Dierna's arm.   
  
"Eric, this time you have gone too far, you damn well better start running..."  
  
"Wicked..." Dierna softly exclaimed as she looked into the cauldron. The contents had turned from a yellow-green to a swirling mixture of red and orange with gold flecks shimmering at the surface.   
  
"Dierna, I want you out of here now, you too Eva, this is not going to be anything I want a lady to see," Severus said as he ushered the two women towards the door.   
  
"Don't kill him Dad," Dierna rolled her eyes at the way her father was glaring at her, "I don't really mind, and it finished off the first stage of the brewing."   
  
"Professor, perhaps you should calm down before anymore blood is shed?" Eva tentatively suggested.   
  
"Ladies, please leave," Severus said through clenched teeth. He quickly moved them towards the door, but when he turned around to deal with Eric, the old man was gone.

* * *

"Are you feeling congenial enough yet to continue teaching Nimue?" Remus gently asked.   
  
Kalliope nodded, "yes. More than ready now I think."   
  
"What are these?" Remus asked as he picked up several scattered letters written in strange hands, including one on papyrus and one on heavy parchment.

"I've been communicating with the few temples that remain in the magical world. I've started contacting the other priestesses who still serve any form of the goddess, trying to figure out how they are going to deal with the increased threat of the dark forces. It is once again becoming a world- wide concern."   
  
"Are you women plotting to deal with this all yourselves?" Remus asked with a grin.   
  
Kalliope frowned at him, "we're certainly more capable of dealing with it than the men of your Ministry. They've only made the situation worse."   
  
Remus, not in the mood for a fight, chose to hold his tongue on that matter. "Who is Svafa?" he asked as he continued to sift through Kalliope's correspondence.   
  
"She is one of the Volva."   
  
Remus frowned, "I've heard that term before."   
  
"They are seeresses from the north."   
  
Remus nodded slowly while mentally making a note to contact someone from Durmstrang, probably Krum, to see if they could provide any further information. While he trusted Kalliope herself completely, he had some reservations about the rest of the priestess community. Some of them were downright vicious in their opinions of men. Not that there weren't congenial ones, but they tended to become less involved in matters that involved the wizarding community.   
  
"What are you thinking wizard?" Kalliope interrupted his train of thought.   
  
Remus shook his head, smiling slightly as he looked up, "nothing, just lost myself there for a moment."   
  
Kalliope frowned, "you do realize that those who serve the cults of the goddess are on our side? They abhor Voldemort and his followers."   
  
"I wish you wouldn't read my mind."   
  
She snorted, "I wasn't reading your mind, just your expression."   
  
"You know why I am worried though."   
  
"Yes, I know that those who follow the old ways have not always been... completely accepting... of the wizarding community. You have abandoned the way of life that they still practice."   
  
"We have changed because we had to."   
  
"You did not have to! Look at my temple, at Avalon, even in Midgard, all of them still operate as they have for hundreds, even thousands of years. When I was initiated the same songs were sung, the same torches passed, the same barely mixture drunk as it has been since the goddess gave instructions on how she should be worshiped. Why is it that you have allowed your way of life to change so?"   
  
"Not all things are meant to stay the same."   
  
"Not all are strong enough to keep them the same. There was a time when you wizards understood that, Salazar Slytherin did."

* * *

"Well that's done with," Severus muttered to himself.   
  
"Did you kill him?"   
  
"What are you doing here?" Severus asked impatiently as he speared Dierna with an icy glare.   
  
Dierna raised an eyebrow as she rearranged her position on the couch in her parents' living quarters, "waiting to see if you really killed Eric."  
  
"Unfortunately no, the bastard disappeared before I could deal with him," he frowned as he thought about the most current reason for which he wanted to murder that man, "let me see your arm."  
  
Dierna obligingly rolled up her sleeve and extended her right arm out, palm- side up, "not a mark on it."   
  
"That doesn't change the fact that he should not have done that."   
  
Dierna shrugged, "at least it worked."   
  
Severus nodded in agreement, thinking that at least this way he had confirmation that his daughter was indeed a virgin, but he refrained from voicing that fact as he knew she would take it as a lack of trust and throw a fit, "now we wait, and when we finish it in a month it will be ready to test."   
  
Dierna smiled slightly, "that means we get to finish it on the ides of March, does that mean anything?"  
  
"What do you mean by 'we'? You are not helping out again after what happened today."   
  
"That's not fair! That wasn't my fault!"   
  
Severus sighed, "I will reconsider it, but I promise nothing."

* * *

"I think it's gotten colder out..."  
  
"I think you're right."   
  
Ginny jumped as and spun around, her hand going to her heart, "you startled me!"   
  
Sirius grinned, "Sorry about that, I thought you had heard me come in."  
  
Ginny shook her head, "not that I'm not pleased to see you, but what in the world are you doing here?"   
  
"Playing matchmaker."   
  
Ginny's eyebrows shot up, "in case you haven't realized it Mr. Black, I'm already married, and to your godson no less, I'm hardly in need of a matchmaker."   
  
"How about a repairer then?"   
  
Ginny sighed, "If you're here because Harry is too..."  
  
"He doesn't know I'm here, and I doubt he would like it either. I just came to clear a couple of things up for my own sake. I've heard that you still haven't forgiven him for what Cho did." He took her silence as an agreement, "Harry did nothing..."  
  
"You're right he did nothing! That's the problem Sirius. That... she just showed up, intent on catching herself a quidditch player out on tour with his team. She wanted my husband! And I know Harry was faithful to me..."  
  
"But..."  
  
"He did nothing. He didn't even have the decency to tell me what happened. I had to hear it from someone else. That's when we stopped talking. We're married, and when we first started out that meant that we told each other everything. And then that stopped. I don't even know how to talk to him anymore."  
  
"You both deserve to be happy."   
  
"I know, and you have every right to want your godson to be happy, maybe if we went our separate ways."  
  
"That's not what I meant," Sirius ran a hand through his hair, which he had noticed was starting to go grey, "I want you two to be happy together. I think I'm getting sentimental in my old age," he smiled wryly.   
  
Ginny shook her head, a small smile threatening to come out, "maybe its being a married man, you're determined to have everyone as happy as you are."

* * *

Eric eased himself down the steps into his work area. He had decided that it might be best to lie low for awhile, well away from the wrath of Severus. And, over the years, he had realized that Paris was the perfect place to hide oneself. And so the weeks slipped by, dismal February slipping into an even bleaker March.   
  
"And how are you two this evening?" He asked, addressing himself to the two ravens perched next to his desk, as he shook the snow from his cloak, "I swear, the city streets get more and more crowded every year... Hugin, Munin, anything come for me while I was gone? Ahhhh... yes... apparently so." He picked up several letters and immediately threw out two of them, "hmmm..." he carefully examined the third one, "I don't like this. Not at all..."  
  
Eric moved as quickly as old age would allow back to his sanctum sanctorum and quickly traveled in his own peculiar way to the headquarters that Draco had set up.   
  
"Eric, glad to see that you can still be relied on," Draco smirked as the older man appeared.   
  
"You left me a most interesting message, one that I could not ignore."   
  
"Yes, I find your loyalty to your family to be most refreshing. So many purebloods have turned out to be so disappointing. It's nice to know that a few of us still cling to the old ways."   
  
Eric made no answer, knowing exactly how dangerous this game he played was, "I'd like to see my nephew."   
  
"Of course," Draco waved his hand towards the back hallway, which was dark and dungeon-like in appearance.   
  
Eric nodded curtly and slowly walked back that way, slowly pulling open the first door that he came to. "Well Tom," he closed the door and quickly muttered a soundproofing charm, "this is about the end of it. Family or no I've had to make a decision, and I've got to do right by Yvonne. And that means that I fight on the side of Zach and his cause of 'good' of whatever such nonsense that boy has come up with. I know this is far from over, and I don't much care for life anymore. Goodbye."   
  
With that final farewell to his days of playing the double agent Eric hitched his cloak back around his shoulders as he went back into the hallway. But he paused at the door across the hall, peering in through the bars on it, "Merlin's balls... Draco, how long have you had him?"   
  
Draco shrugged, "years. I think we may finally have a use for him."


	64. Chapter 64

"Was ist das?"  
  
Zach looked up from the net he was preparing, "a net we use for the dragons."   
  
"Warum?"   
  
He smiled, it was becoming easier and easier to follow some of the German phrases that were constantly being thrown at him. "You see the pieces of metal tied on all over?"  
  
Clara nodded.   
  
"They reflect light, and distract the dragon. We only use these on small ones, but it makes them easier to stun and move if we need to."   
  
"Can we go down and see the dragons?"   
  
Zach rolled his eyes heavenward, "absolutely not," he'd had more than his fair share of chasing curious students away from the dragons already. There was no way he was going to willingly bring an eight year old down to them.   
  
"Why not? Du spielst mit ihm."   
  
"Clara! 'du?' try 'Sie' when you're speaking to Zach, and he does not 'play' with the dragons, he's keeping them in control so that they're not tempted to eat little girls."   
  
Clara stuck her tongue out at her aunt, "I was being polite, really!"   
  
"Umm-hmmm... well try a little harder next time," Eva said as she tweaked her niece's nose. "Has she been bothering you?" she asked turning to Zach.   
  
"Not at all. Has Alberto been bothering you?" he asked with a smile.  
  
Eva rolled her eyes, "I swear, some days it's like I'm dating ein kind. Er ist so..."  
  
"Spontaneous? Immature? Too smooth for his own good?" &  
  
Eva nodded.   
  
"Don't worry Zach, I don't think Eva will marry him, she hasn't even told him her real name yet!" Clara said, grinning wickedly, before bolting from the room.   
  
"So... what's your real name?" Zach asked, "I take it it's not Eva."   
  
Eva buried her face in her hands as she blushed, "nein, es ist nicht Eva. She removed her hands, but was well aware of how bright her face still was, "it's not something I share with a lot of people, because it is... I've been teased about it before since I grew up in a monastic community. My name is Benedicta."

* * *

"...a blessing."   
  
"And that's the end of the prophecy?"   
  
"Yes, that is all we have."   
  
Cadmus paced, "and why are you asking for my help?"   
  
Rheia frowned, "because I don't have much choice."  
  
"A priestess who serves Her, and a priestess who serves the consort... can it be any two priestesses?"   
  
Rheia shook her head, "no, it has been tried before. I believe the girl is one of the priestesses we need, but she must be trained first."   
  
"You have Kalliope's message. The girl's family does not wish for her to come here."   
  
"Then we must do something about that. Get her here, I don't care how. I will not allow our ways to die out!"

* * *

"You have your orders, now get back to school before you're missed," Macnair thrust his son's bag at him and held the door open.   
  
"Wait, I have one request," Connor stopped halfway through the door.   
  
"You're in no position to be making requests," his father hissed.   
  
"Wait," Draco gestured for silence, "I want to hear what he wants."   
  
Connor shifted his school bag to his shoulder, "Snape's daughter, she wants nothing to do with me. I was wondering if I could use some of the information you've given me to convince her otherwise."   
  
Draco looked amused, "I've never been one to stand in the way of young love. As long as you do not betray our mission do as you like to get the little bitch into bed."

* * *

"Ummm... Serena, can I talk to you for a minute?"  
  
"Sure Kandi, what's up?"   
  
Kandi shifted a bit nervously from foot to foot as her roommate looked at her questioningly, "Mark asked me out, but I wanted to make sure its ok with you, 'cause I'd rather have you as a friend than Mark as a boyfriend if you're not comfortable with it."   
  
Serena felt a small pang of jealousy, but brushed it aside. She thought carefully for a minute. Yes she had cared about Mark, but she had moved on and was more than happy with Nick, "Go ahead, I don't mind."  
  
"You're sure? There won't be any hard feelings?"

"It's not a problem. He's a great guy."

* * *

"I heard Sirius was here."  
  
"He was."   
  
"I also know why he was here."   
  
Ginny shrugged, "so?"   
  
"You don't feel like you can talk to me."   
  
Ginny recognized that it wasn't a question, "Harry, I..." she was cut off when her husband's mouth forcefully covered hers.   
  
"This is the way things are going to work," Harry said as he broke away, covering his wife's mouth with his hand so she couldn't interrupt, "I know I've screwed up, and I'm sorry for that. But we are going to talk, no matter how difficult it is, not matter how long it takes. We are going to get to know each other again. We are going to make this work, no matter how hard it is, no matter how much work it takes."   
  
Ginny pried Harry's hand away, "what if that's not what I want?"   
  
"Then I'll kiss you senseless until you do agree."

* * *

As the middle of March approached things had become eerily calm on the impending war front. There had been no recent attacks, no recent uprisings. Nothing. Just an increasing amount of tension for those who waited.   
  
Minerva paced the confines of her office, waiting for Albus to return. She glanced up at his empty portrait frame yet again and sighed as it was still empty.   
  
"Pacing won't help."   
  
She glanced over at Severus who was leafing though a book from his seat in front of her desk, "I don't know how you can be this calm."   
  
He shrugged, "I've had plenty of chances to learn patience in my lifetime. Worrying will not make things better."   
  
"He's right you know. Worrying does nothing but make the time drag by slower than you would imagine possible," the portrait of Albus Dumbledore agreed as he returned to his frame in the Headmistress's office.   
  
"What has happened Albus?" Minerva clutched the back of the chair next to her so tightly that her knuckles turned white.   
  
"It is done; they are now one step closer."   
  
Severus swore under his breath as he stood up and moved to stare out the window.   
  
"I can't believe they got away with it..." Minerva pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes, "the poor Weasleys... how did they remove him from office?"   
  
"They invented charges, and then had the infiltrated members vote him out. I'm sure we can expect one of their own to be voted into office in the near future."   
  
"We should be thankful that they didn't remove Arthur from office through assassination," Severus inserted.   
  
The portrait of Albus nodded grimly as he popped a lemon drop from a painted dish into his mouth, "he will be arriving here shortly with Molly. The Order must find a safe place for them. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, one of our members is already on it."   
  
"Where will they be going?"   
  
Albus shrugged, "I'm not completely sure yet. But I hear that Professor Lupin's consort has a wonderful network of connections all over the world that are ready to fight on our side. Eric also has friends in all sorts of places who would take them in. As does Miss Bhaer. I think they will be able to find a safe place for Arthur and Molly among them."

* * *

"You promised," Dierna reminded her father.   
  
Severus growled an unintelligible response, sincerely regretting the promise he had made.   
  
Dierna gave him her best sad face, in hopes of influencing his decision.

Severus sighed in defeat, "you will watch silently and from a safe distance. If I have any cause to remember that you are in the room you will regret it. Understood?"   
  
"Yes sir," Dierna resisted smiling in triumph. She knew how serious this was.   
  
A short time later she was seated on a stool, set off to the side of where the final steps to the Quintessence were underway. She still wasn't sure what had happened so that Eric could safely return, but she was happy to see him back. She wasn't sure if she liked the old man because he was truly interesting, or only because it was yet another way to irritate her father.   
  
Eva very carefully mixed together the phoenix ashes and a small quantity of sea salt, grinding them to a fine powder with mortar and pestle. "I wish the outcome was better documented..." she muttered.   
  
"We just have to try it and see," Eric frowned in concentration. "My hands aren't steady enough for this; it will have to be one of you two."   
  
Severus looked at Eva with a raised eyebrow.   
  
Eva held her hands out in front of her, as though to ward off an attack, "nein, I don't trust my abilities for something like this."   
  
"Then you stir," Severus directed as he took the jar of phoenix ashes and salt mixture from her. He took a tiny pinch between his fingers and carefully sifted it into the swirling redness of the Quintessence, which instantly changed to a brilliant blue. He continued to add the mixture a small pinch at a time. If it didn't dissolve immediately upon contact the potion would be ruined. Sweat formed on his forehead as he continued the tedious process. As he added the last bit the potion turned a violent shade of green with swirls of gold through it.   
  
"It's done," Eric stated.   
  
Eva breathed as sigh of relief, "now what?"

"We test it," Severus responded, he grinned slightly, "on the perfect test subject."

* * *

"Arthur, Molly, how are you doing?" Minerva greeted the couple in the front entrance hall.   
  
"About as well as can be expected," Arthur replied. He attempted a small smile, "I'm sure everything will work out for the best."   
  
Molly dabbed at her eyes with a lace edged handkerchief, "I'm worried about what will happen to our family."  
  
Arthur patted her hand reassuringly, "now, now dear, we both know that I'm the only one seen as a threat by their forces. I'm sure the children and grandchildren will be fine. Besides, most of them are here at the school, the safest place to be!"   
  
"And we need to discuss the safest place for you to be," Minerva inserted as they made their way down into the dungeons, and past the tapestry of Circe into the Order's headquarters. "The Order has decided that it is necessary for you to leave the country for awhile, go someplace safe. We got word late this afternoon that due to the amount of support still being shown for Arthur there might be an assassination attempt. We can't lose you Arthur; you're far too valuable to our cause."   
  
"And where will we go?" Molly asked, still dabbing at her eyes.   
  
"We have several options," Minerva said as they all sat down. "First, Eric has offered you the use of his... lair," she sniffed disdainfully, "I would _not _recommend that one. Krum has alerted us that there is a place on Durmstrang's grounds that you could use. And finally, there is a community of priestesses to Isis in Egypt that are willing to offer you protection. They are acquaintances of Remus'..." she cleared her throat, "of a priestess who has been aiding us, and they have worked with Bill before."  
  
Arthur clutched his wife's hand, "I think Egypt it is. And with Bill still doing some work there we'll have a family contact. Unless we must go completely into hiding?" he looked to Minerva.   
  
"Bill will know where you are. The Order has taken the liberty of removing some personal possessions from your home. We will move you to Egypt as soon as possible. And Arthur, all of us here still consider you to be the Minister of Magic, you have our support."

* * *

"Thank you for bringing me," Dierna said as she looked up at her father.   
  
Severus slid an arm around her shoulders, "I suppose it was only fair." He looked up as the head of St. Mungo's came to greet their small group, "Mrs. Granger-Weasley, it's a pleasure to see you again," he said in a voice that was somewhere between a sneer and sincerity.   
  
"Professor Snape," she nodded her head in acknowledgement, "I was under the impression that you were coming alone..." her gaze took in the group of people assembled in the lobby.   
  
"A miscommunication, I'm sure you remember Professors Lupin and Sirius, and of course Potter," the last name came out as a snarl. Severus hadn't planned on bringing those three, but when they found out who Quintessence was going to be tested on there was no keeping them away. "And my assistants, Eric, Miss Bhaer, and my daughter."  
  
Hermione threw her arms around Harry's neck, "we don't see each other often enough."   
  
"I know," Harry grinned, "how's Ron been treating you?"   
  
"As touching as this is, we have work to do," Severus growled.   
  
"As pleasant as usual I see," Hermione whispered to Harry.   
  
"And my hearing is as good as ever," Severus said calmly.   
  
Dierna stifled a giggle behind her hand, and quickly retreated out of her father's reach to walk beside Remus. She could tell her father was stressed out and concerned about testing the Quintessence and it was best to stay away when he was like that.   
  
"How'd you talk him into bringing you?" Remus asked quietly.   
  
"Easy, I have him so totally wrapped around my little finger."   
  
Sirius snorted as he joined the conversation, "somehow I doubt that. I caught a glance at the detention chart in the staff room before we left. If you have him 'so totally wrapped' why did he give you detention for a whole week?"   
  
Dierna scowled, "because he's a greasy git who doesn't appreciate my opinions during class."   
  
Sirius and Remus both fought smiles as they continued up to the fourth floor and the spell damage ward. "Her father's temper and biting sarcasm and her mother's wit, it's a wonderful combination," Sirius muttered.   
  
Remus had to fight very hard not to laugh out loud. When he composed himself he turned back to his long time friend as they entered the ward, "what kind of condition do you think Gilderoy is in?"   
  
"Hello there, how are you? Would you like autographs? I have a whole stack of them."   
  
"Ask him yourself," Sirius said with an ill concealed grin. "We'd like five each, Goldy, and I'm sure the oversized bat would like a whole stack."   
  
"I'll get right on it!" Gilderoy Lockhart, still in possession of wavy gold hair and the blue eyes that had driven witches crazy for him years ago, rushed over to a table littered with snapshots of himself. "Any special requests or shall I just sign?"   
  
Harry looked at him in disgust, "do we really have to try and bring him back? He was just about the worst DADA teacher the school ever had, and a liar and creep to boot, why not leave him this way?"   
  
Dierna tried to hide another fit of giggles but failed miserably. But she sobered up quickly when her father cuffed her on the back of her head and hissed an order at her to behave herself. She sidled over to Harry and made sure to keep her voice low, "Mum says he was the worst DADA teacher ever, hands down."   
  
Harry shook his head, "I think Umbridge has him beat."   
  
"Not according to Mum. She says she doesn't care how bad you all thought she was, nothing compares with having Lockhart propose a student/teacher affair to you."   
  
Harry's mouth dropped open, "remind me to get that whole story sometime."   
  
Dierna grinned, "It's a great one. She gets all worked up, usually ends up throwing something. It generally takes Dad a good couple of hours to talk her down out of her rage after she gets going on that topic."   
  
Hermione ignored the gathered group and turned her attention to her former potions master, "I've covered up this little test with a mountain of paperwork, just in case the new regime at the Ministry decides to do any digging."   
  
"Good," Severus carefully measured out a small dose of the quintessence into a small cup. "Shall we give it a shot then?"   
  
Hermione nodded, resisting the urge to ask about the finer details of the potion, her thirst for knowledge having never died out, "Gilderoy," she said sweetly, "come here darling, we have something to give you."   
  
"Is it a present?" Gilderoy asked excitedly.   
  
"Yes," Hermione smiled slightly. "Hopefully the best one you'll ever get, you're going to get your memories back."   
  
"Too bad it doesn't benefit the rest of us..." Harry mumbled under his breath.   
  
Hermione took the cup from Severus and handed it to Gilderoy, "here, drink this."   
  
Gilderoy quickly drank the entire contents with the curiosity of a small child. As he swallowed the last of it he squeezed his eyes shut, and ran a hand over his face. When he opened his eyes again he looked around the room in confusion, "Hello there. Would you mind telling me where I am?" he brushed an imaginary piece of lint off of his sleeve and smoothed back his hair, smiling broadly, "I'm Gilderoy Lockhart, of course, five time winner of Witch Weekly's..."  
  
"By god..." Eric cut him off, "it worked."   
  
Severus nodded grimly, "this means it will work on Voldemort if they can reproduce it."

* * *

Sophia sprinted across the snow covered lawn and ducked as yet another snowball whizzed past her head. "Missed again," she shouted over her shoulder as she quickly changed direction.   
  
"Not for long," William growled as he covered the distance between them and tackled her into the snow from behind. They rolled on the ground for several minutes, intent on pelting each other with snow until William managed to pin the young novice underneath him. "I think I win," he said breathing heavily.   
  
"That's just because I let you," Sophia said trying to look as innocent as possible, "I am a priestess after all."   
  
"In training, you haven't taken your vows yet," William reminded her.   
  
"That doesn't change anything, I still could've won if I wanted to," Sophia insisted as William let her up and she brushed the snow from her clothes.   
  
"Not likely kid," William said as he scooped up another handful of snow to toss at her.   
  
"Not fair! I thought we had a truce!"   
  
"What are you going to do about it?" William asked teasingly.   
  
Sophia quickly rose up on her toes and brushed her lips across his cheek before turning and sprinting inside.


	65. Chapter 65

Dierna was practically skipping as classes let out Friday afternoon. She had received a letter from Stefan and was feeling almost giddy. She headed back towards the Gryffindor tower from the dungeons as a strange feeling came over her.   
  
She walked down the corridor quickly; she had the distinct impression that she was being followed. She could feel it, and it was a feeling that she didn't like. She quickly glanced over her shoulder. There was nothing there. Only the shadows playing on the walls, and the slight movement from the tapestries as the chilly March breeze caught them, making their tasseled edges dance.  
  
She kept walking; she had to be imaging that feeling. There had been nothing there. But, she still felt uncomfortable. She tried to distract herself by thinking about the success of the Quintessence. Now that they had brewed it successfully they could start working on ways to counter its effects. And they would be able to study exactly how it worked. She glanced over her shoulder again. Still nothing. She shook her head, and turned around to start walking again, but felt a cold, clammy hand clamp over her mouth.   
  
"Hello doll, I was hoping to catch you alone." Connor uncovered Dierna's mouth, his breath was hot and heavy on the back of her neck, "now, I want you to know that my offer still stands. How about it? Why don't you come warm my bed tonight? I know it's what you want."   
  
"For the last time, leave me alone. I want nothing to do with you Connor. You are a creep and a rat. If you touch me again, I swear, I will scream rape."   
  
"Now why would you do something like that, when you know it's what you want?" He laid a hand on her arm, which was instantly shrugged off. "Fine, I can see that you're going to be stubborn about this. Maybe I'll just have to make sure your boyfriend never makes it back to you again. No? That threat doesn't get to you. Then maybe I'll just work my charm on your little sister. I should have no problem 'convincing' Nimue to get with me. Besides, if you say anything about this whole exchange to anyone, I'll kill you. And I have 'friends' in very high places now that my father is the Head Minister. I'll make sure your family suffers unless I get what I want. And I want you, but I suppose your sister will make an adequate substitute. You wouldn't want anything to happen to you family now would you?"   
  
Dierna was enraged, how dare he speak like that about her sister and threaten Stefan like that! She felt a strong sense of satisfaction as she spun around and felt her fist connect with his jaw. She flew at him. All the rage she had been bottling up since he had first started hitting on her was released. It felt wonderful. Her fist connected with his jaw again, and then she clawed at his face. She wanted to see his blood run.   
  
Connor tried to fight back, but he had been caught off guard, and was definitely getting the worst of it. Dierna swung at him again as they both fell to the floor. She was going to make sure he never hurt her again.   
  
As she started to swing at him again she was suddenly grabbed by a pair of rough hands and dragged off of Connor. She swung blindly at her captor as hot angry tears poured down her face. She felt her elbow connect with something soft, the person who was holding her, as she continued to struggle. "Let me go! I'm going to kill him!" Her voice was thick with rage and tears. Her family and Stefan were her two weaknesses, something inside of her had snapped when that sewer rat Connor threatened them. She wanted to see him suffer.   
  
Through the tears she saw her father pulling Connor up off the floor, but that did nothing to quell the fury in her heart. "Let me go!" She continued to struggle, trying to fight her way out of the grasp of whoever was holding her. But it did nothing. The hold on her only tightened and her arms were pinned to her sides.   
  
"Hold still!" Dierna barely heard the angry, masculine voice through the rushing in her ears. And in her state of rage she didn't even try to place it.   
  
"No! Let me go, I'm going to..."  
  
"Silence!" Dierna stopped struggling at the authoritative command in her father's voice.   
  
The man holding her spoke up, "Severus, you better get him to the hospital wing. She broke his jaw and he looks pretty banged up. I'll have her in my office."   
  
Dierna recognized the voice now, it was Professor Lupin. She watched as her father supported Connor as they headed down the hall. She hoped she had broken more than his jaw, he deserved everything he got.   
  
"Are you calm enough to walk by yourself, or do I have to keep a hold on you on the way to my office?" Remus' voice was hard. He couldn't believe the scene he had just witnessed.   
  
"I'm calm enough," her voice was choked by her fury. Dierna knew that she was anything but calm, the hot angry tears continued to pour down her face. And the boiling rage she was feeling was not subsided. As she felt Professor Lupin ease his grip on her she fought the temptation to bolt. Part of her recognized the fact that she had never heard her head of house sound so angry. It wouldn't be worth it.

* * *

"Where's Tanta Eva?"   
  
"She had to go to Paris to help Eric put together some supplies for a project they're working on. She'll be back late tonight."   
  
"Oh..."  
  
"What's the matter? You that disappointed that she asked me to look after you?" Zach said with a half smile as he looked down at Clara.

"Nein, es ist ok. She and Alberto decided not to see each other anymore last night."   
  
Zach stopped in his tracks he was so taken by surprise by that random statement. He had taken his grandfather's order to look after Eva to heart, and had been more than a little disappointed when she had started spending her free time with Alberto. But this changed things. He was pulled back to reality by Clara tugging on his hand.   
  
"Du sollst sie heiraten."   
  
"What does that mean?"   
  
Clara smiled mischievously, "not telling."

* * *

"You broke that boy's jaw and his nose, and his face is pretty beat up, now, what do have to say for yourself?"   
  
"That's all I broke? I was hoping the damage would have been worse." Dierna's voice was bitter and icily cold.   
  
"Adelaide Dierna Snape! I cannot believe that you just said that. I am thoroughly disgusted with your behavior today."  
  
"Well I'm not; you should have heard what he said to me!"   
  
Severus fought for control of his temper, "I do not care what he said to you, you had no cause to attack him."   
  
"But I..."  
  
"Dierna listen to me, and listen well. As much as you may detest Mr. Macnair that does not change the fact that his father is now the Head Minister, and is high up in Malfoy's hierarchy. You have to be more careful. You cannot do anything to provoke them."   
  
"But he..."  
  
Severus cupped his daughter's jaw in his hand, "they have killed people for less. I have warned you before about watching yourself around Connor; you need to be more careful." He picked up her hand from where it lay in her lap and ran his thumb over her bruised knuckles, "I worry about you enough as it is, stay away from him. If not for your sake then for mine."   
  
Dierna nodded mutely, as she drew her hand back.   
  
"She's in your house Lupin, deal with her as you see fit," Severus said as he resumed his seat.   
  
Remus stood up from where he had been sitting behind his desk. "You've been warned about fighting before Dierna, and according to school policy you should be expelled."   
  
Dierna turned several shades paler, "Professor, please don't expel me."   
  
Remus continued on as though she hadn't interrupted him, "however, I strongly suspect that Connor provoked the fight, and I'm willing to write your actions off as self defense. But I know that Walden Macnair is going to make sure that justice, as he sees it, was done. So I can't let you completely off the hook."   
  
Dierna turned pleading eyes to her head of house, silently begging that whatever he decided it would not involve removal from the quidditch team. She made up her mind that she could handle anything but that.   
  
Remus sighed wearily, there were very few times when he hated his job, but this was one of them, "in school suspension for three days, you'll be allowed to turn in any work you miss, but you won't attend classes for those days."

* * *

"How was your day with the little ones?" Charlie greeted his wife with a kiss.   
  
"As well as can be expected. How were your classes?"   
  
"As well as can be expected," he said, echoing Meg's words. "Where are the children hiding?"   
  
Meg sighed as she looked around, "Arthur is sleeping. I have no idea where the twins are, they were here a minute ago! Those two have been driving me up the wall all day."   
  
As they moved back into their living room from the hallway Charlie's eyebrows shot up, "I think we found them, and it looks like they found some crayons..."  
  
Meg closed her eyes and tried to breathe deeply to keep from losing her temper as she thought about the crayon markings all over the walls. As tired as Charlie was he decided it might be best if he handled this situation. "Ok you two," he said as he retrieved broken crayon bits from the pudgy hands of the twins, "your bedroom now, I'll be there in a minute. And you," he placed his hands on Meg's shoulders, "go to our room. I'll be there soon."   
  
Meg tried to protest, but found herself dragged by the hand and deposited on their bed before she could form the words.   
  
Charlie, for his part, cleaned up the walls in the living room and had all of the children in bed in record time before rejoining his wife. He sat on the bed behind her and began to rub her shoulders, "I love you..." he murmured against her think blond hair.   
  
"Mmm... I'll give you an eternity to stop that," Meg said as she closed her eyes, "I love you so much. There are days when I don't think I deserve you."   
  
"Of course you deserve me," there was a hint of a smile in Charlie's voice, "Weasley men have impeccable taste in women." He wrapped his arms tightly around her and lay back on the bed, taking his wife with him.

* * *

Viviane chewed her lip nervously, a trait she had inherited from her mother, "I wish you didn't have to go."   
  
Stefan shrugged, "I don't have much choice in the matter. I have my orders, we both do." He checked his pockets to make sure he had the portkey that would bring him back, and his one dose of a potion used for suicide if the situation became too extreme.   
  
"Screw the orders, I just don't feel right about this one. Stay here."   
  
"I've gotta go. We can't let Malfoy get away with what he's doing." Stefan turned to pick up the portkey that would take him to Malfoy's headquarters, but stopped, "do me a favor Viv; tell my parents that I love them. And tell Dierna that I'm sorry and that I wish... just tell her that I love her."   
  
Viviane nodded, fighting back tears, "please come back Stefan, if things look like they're going downhill just come back."   
  
Stefan lowered his head as he reached for the portkey, "I'll do my best, but I have a job to do."

* * *

"Are you mad?"   
  
No response.   
  
"Are you disappointed in me?"

No response.   
  
"Are you at least going to say something to me about it?!" Dierna's voice was edging on hysterical.   
  
Severus looked at her over the stack of papers on his desk. He hadn't expected his daughter to follow him down here, he would have though that she would go mope in her common room for awhile, "are you asking me to yell at you?" he asked calmly.   
  
"No... I don't know... I just thought you would..." she sighed in frustration as she tried to put her thoughts in order. "I don't know. I thought you would be really angry with me."   
  
"I am not pleased with the situation, but I am not angry with you. I am displeased with your actions, but I understand why you reacted the way you did. So, I have no intention of saying anything more on the matter. Does that satisfy you?"   
  
Dierna sniffed as she nodded, and tried to blink back the tears that were threatening. She wasn't happy with herself, and that was the worst part.

* * *

Stefan tripped and would have fallen head first down the stairs if Macnair hadn't had such a tight grip on him.   
  
"We've known about you for ages MacNeill, I'm not sure why Malfoy waited until now to deal with you, but it's about time," Macnair said as he thrust the younger man into a damp, and poorly lit room. "We moved our other... liability... down here to keep you company."   
  
"Liability?!" Stefan growled in outrage, "You mean prisoner!" He was furious that he had allowed himself to be taken, and that they relieved him of the contents of his pockets.   
  
Macnair shrugged, "same thing." And he slammed the door shut.   
  
Stefan could have howled in frustration as he realized how desperate his situation was. "Who are you?" he addressed the ragged looking man crouched in the corner.   
  
The man shrugged, "it doesn't really matter here, not when we're just going to die anyways." He pushed matted and scraggly red hair out of his eyes. "welcome to hell."   
  
Stefan sighed as he sank down on the dirty floor next to his cell mate, "I'm Stefan, I was working undercover for the Ministry, until... well, until today."   
  
The other man shrugged, "same with me, my name's Percy Weasley."

* * *

Nimue dumped a stack of books on the table in the empty classroom and faced Kalliope. "I've done a lot of research."   
  
"On what child?"   
  
"On mythology, and on the history of seers."   
  
"And what have you decided?"   
  
Nimue tucked a strand of her soft brown hair behind her ear, "there are some forms of the goddess that I really like. And there are some that scare me. But I like most of what I've seen of her cults. It's comforting somehow."   
  
Kalliope looked into the girl's violet eyes, "so have you been able to reconcile the vengeful side of the goddess with her other aspects?"   
  
Nimue nodded, "and I've been reading about the seers and seeresses in different cultures. It seems like a hard life but a useful one. And since I'm stuck with it..."  
  
"You might as well learn to control your gift..."  
  
"or curse..."  
  
"To the best of your abilities."   
  
Nimue chewed her lower lip, "but I don't want to do it by myself."   
  
"And you won't child, I'll be right here with you, helping every step of the way," Kalliope wrapped a comforting arm around the girl's shoulders.   
  
Nimue shook her head, "that's not quite what I meant." She took a deep breath, "I want to be a priestess."

* * *

Viviane paced the small confines of the debriefing room with increasing agitation. Stefan had been gone for too long, far too long. She turned in frustration and punched the wall with a balled up fist. "It's not fair..." she sank down onto the floor, pulling her knees up to her chest and cradling her bruised hand gently. "This damn mission, I'm separated from my husband, Stefan is separated from his family, and we're getting nowhere."   
  
She let her head fall back against the wall while she contemplated resigning. She wasn't supposed to be here. She worked in the department of mysteries; she wasn't supposed to work on missions like this. Foul play was apparent.   
  
She was about to give up her vigil for the night and turn in when there was a small popping sound. She turned very slowly in the direction of it, silently praying that it wouldn't be what she thought it was. Stumbling over her feet she scrambled to the spool of thread that had been Stefan's portkey this week. Tied to it were the contents of his pockets and a note, which read:   
  
_Your game is up. Don't wait up for young MacNeill, he won't be returning. Most Sincerely D.M._

"No... no no nononono..." Viviane sank back on her heels cradling the small collection of items in her lap. "This didn't happen..." sobs wracked her body as she sat there, shaking violently. "Please no..."  
  
She tried to gather herself together. She stood up, clutching Stefan's possessions to her chest as she stumbled to a cabinet which held assorted portkeys, and wrapped her hand around one marked for Ron Weasley's office at the Ministry. She felt the familiar jerk around her middle that accompanied portkey travel, and the next thing she knew she was sprawled on the floor of the auror's office.

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me. Everyone thinks you turn coated on your family, there were even rumors that you died a few years back."   
  
Percy shook his head, "not true. I was in league with Fudge and Macnair for awhile. But I finally wised up and decided I wanted out. They didn't feel the same way. I've been shuffled around every since, living in squalor, in the most dilapidated room of wherever their current headquarters are located. My family doesn't even know that I came back to their side... If I could have one wish, I'd want a day, an hour, with my family, to explain. What about you kid? One wish, what would it be?"   
  
Stefan shrugged, "facing eminent death? One more day with my girlfriend." He leaned against the damp wall, "I bought a ring, absolutely perfect for her. I was just waiting until I was sure her father wouldn't kill me if I asked for her hand... god how I love her..."  
  
"What's her name?"   
  
"Dierna... her name is Dierna Snape."   
  
Percy snorted, "No relation to Severus Snape by any chance?"   
  
"His daughter."   
  
"Wow... who would have thought there was someone out there who wanted to procreate with him?"

* * *

Viviane sobbed out the story of what had happened to Ron Weasley, who had a hard time following the garbled information through her tears. He finally got her situated in a comfortable chair as he contacted several people through the floo network, silently praying that no one was monitoring it too closely.   
  
Moments later Bill Weasley came through the door.   
  
"Thanks for coming mate," Ron said as he shook his brother's hand, "we have to get her out of here in case Draco decides she'd make a good captive... or worse... too."   
  
Bill nodded solemnly, "it's a good thing Colin decided to switch jobs and go to Gringotts as a curse breaker, not only does he have a great boss," he gave a ghost of a smile, "but we can keep them both save in Egypt for awhile. I'll make sure her parents know that we have her and she's safe."   
  
Viviane had remained silent throughout this exchange, only sniffing occasionally into the handkerchief Ron had given her.   
  
"Come on sweetie, we've got a place all set up for you and Colin in Egypt. I'll take you to him now," Bill said as he gently stroked his niece's hair.

* * *

"It's getting harder and harder to keep a cover up with them Severus, I'm afraid that they're going to start suspecting something... what's she doing here? Shouldn't she be in class?" Eric cut himself off.   
  
Severus glanced over at his daughter, "she got herself suspended for fighting, I told her she could invade my office during that time as long as she was working."   
  
"Use poison next time darling, it's less messy and harder to trace."   
  
"Eric she does not need your help getting into trouble! That is something she is perfectly capable of on her own."   
  
"I was just trying to be helpful, unless you let her get in more lab time her talent will go to waste."  
  
"Will you two stop talking like I'm not in the room!" Dierna snapped at the two men, a scowl on her face.   
  
"You're on thin ice already young lady, I would watch your tongue if I were you."   
  
Dierna slammed the book she was reading down on the table and swept out of the room muttering under her breath.   
  
"I heard that!" Severus shouted after her.   
  
"Amazing, the female mind... it has yet to be fully understood..." Eric commented lightly as he examined a spot on his robes.   
  
"Why are you here?" Severus asked in exasperation, "because if it is just to harass me you have already succeeded and you can leave."   
  
"That's not my reason for coming; it's just an added bonus. I'm actually here because we need to come to a consensus about what I can tell our friend Draco without endangering our cause. I have to keep a good front up."   
  
Severus nodded thoughtfully, "give him a few details on Quintessence, but don't let him know we have completed it. I want to see what his reaction is."


	66. Chapter 66

* * *

"What do you think his reaction would be?"  
  
"Not good, which is why we have to wait until he's out of his office," Kamen hissed.   
  
William absently rubbed his upper arm where his brotherhood tattoo was, "It's just that I'm pretty sure someone is going to notice that we're gone if we go to this meeting, it is school hours after all."   
  
"Taken care of," Kamen whispered back, "I have several people covering for us."   
  
When they were sure that Severus had left his office they snuck in and using a pinch of floo powder traveled to the raven's nest.   
  
"Glad you two could make it," Armand greeted them, "it's about time you new recruits saw some action. There's a riot planned for today, going to be led by dark forces. We're going to show them exactly what we think of their policies."   
  
"So, what's the plan?"  
  
Armand smiled grimly, "most of us are adults out in the real world kid, but there are some things that only the school aged can help us with. Certain diversions..."  
  
"Enter the dungbomb collection you requested," Kamen said as he held up his bag.   
  
"We're going to give them hell kid, hope you're prepared to see some action."

* * *

"Colin!" Viviane threw her arms around her husband's neck the moment she entered the flat in Cairo that would be theirs for the time being. She buried her face in his neck, breathing in the comforting scent of hot desert air and exotic spices that clung to him.   
  
Colin gently detached his wife from him long enough to lead her into the bedroom. He sat on the edge of the bed and drew her onto his lap, where she once again buried her face in the soft blue fabric of his worn shirt. "I've never seen you this upset Viv, why has this gotten to you like this?"  
  
"I don't know."   
  
"You know that's not the answer I'm looking for, nor is it a complete one."   
  
Viviane mumbled an answer against his chest.   
  
"I can't understand you when your face is buried like that. I don't want to pressure you Viv, but I'm worried about you."   
  
Viviane forced herself to look up into Colin's concerned face. "Have you ever had a feeling that just wouldn't go away? It just keeps eating at you... I just... knew... that Stefan shouldn't have left. I felt like something was going to go wrong. And now this. What if he doesn't come back Colin? How do I face my little sister and tell her that I knew something was going to happen, but I let the man she loves go off into the hands of Malfoy?"   
  
"There was nothing you could have done. Is there anything else hon?"   
  
She ducked her head, "I started thinking about what I would do if the situation was reversed, if I was the one who lost the man I loved..." a broken sob cut off her words.   
  
"Shhhhh... I'm right here Viv and I don't have any plans of leaving."   
  
"People have died Colin, and more are going to. I was just hoping that my family... our family," she amended herself, "wouldn't be directly affected. I guess it was too much to ask for."

* * *

Kamen winced as William helped him back towards the Gryffindor tower.   
  
"You bad enough for a trip to Pomphrey mate?" William asked.   
  
"No, I'll survive on my own."   
  
"You sure?"   
  
"Of course. Wasn't the action amazing today?" Kamen steered the conversation in a different direction, "I think we're finally making a difference."  
  
"Yes, a violent one. But anything to help the cause."   
  
Kamen laughed, "we may get beat up in the line of duty, but if nothing else at least we have a wicked tattoo."

* * *

Late that night Severus was jolted out of sleep by a muffled scream. He sat up, reaching for his robe, as he glanced down at his wife who was still fast asleep. He cursed softly, that woman would stay asleep even if the whole castle came crashing down around her.   
  
He carefully made his way out of the dark bedroom and across the hall into Olivia's room. He could see the little girl cowering on her bed in the dim glow of her nightlight, and could hear her whimpering softly. "Child, what on earth is the matter?"  
  
Olivia looked up, terror evident in her eyes, "bad dream..."  
  
Severus sighed; this was definitely not his department. He was sorely tempted to wake up Morgan to deal with this, no matter how much effort it took.   
  
"I don't want to stay here alone..." Olivia's lower lip began to tremble as tears once again filled her eyes.   
  
"Can you try to go back to sleep?"   
  
Olivia mournfully shook her head no.   
  
Severus resigned himself to the reality of parenting and scooped the little girl, his daughter he reminded himself, along with Tristan, and carried the two of them back to his room. He tucked Olivia and the stuffed rabbit in next to Morgan and grabbed a blanket for himself as he headed toward the living room. If he couldn't sleep with just Morgan in the bead, he figured he would get no rest whatsoever with too females invading his space.

* * *

Morgan rolled over and woke up very slowly. As she finally managed to open her eyes and look beside her in bed she realized that it was most definitely not her husband lying beside her, "hey sweetie, when did you get here?"  
  
Olivia giggled as she snuggled her way into Morgan's arms, "really_ really_ late last night." She turned serious, "I had a bad dream and Severus brought me in here... is that alright?"   
  
"Of course it is, I wouldn't have it any other way," Morgan smiled as she hugged the girl close.   
  
Olivia smiled shyly and buried her face in Morgan's shoulder, "I love you Mum."  
  
Morgan closed her eyes as silent tears flowed down her face. It was the first time Olivia had called her 'mum'. "Thank you sweetie," she said, placing a kiss on the top of Olivia's head, "you don't know how much I needed that this morning."   
  
"Why?" Olivia asked innocently.   
  
"Because all of my children are growing up to fast. You better promise to stay little for a long time yet young lady," Morgan laughed, hiding the sadness in her voice, as she mercilessly tickled her youngest daughter.

* * *

"Happy Birthday girls!!!" Dinah, Becky, and Kandi chorused as they pounced on the twins, jolting them awake.   
  
"Glorious seventeen, that's officially legal," Kandi pointed out.  
  
Serena took the early morning awakening with good grace and instantly bounded out of bed, while Dierna tried to hide under her blankets. She was not a morning person, she reveled in nighttime activity.   
  
The twins' roommates gave up on Dierna after awhile, and left Serena to get her up while they headed down to breakfast.   
  
"You might as well get up."  
  
"It's the weekend, I don't have classes, I'm staying in bed as long as possible."   
  
"I think there's a package for you here from Stefan..."  
  
Dierna instantly sat up and dove for the end of her bed, quickly sifting through the small pile of gifts to locate one from her boyfriend.   
  
Meanwhile Serena had already started on hers. She smiled as she unwrapped a small stone statue of Sekhmet, "look sweetie, it's the same as you," she said as her sand colored kitten, named for the Egyptian lioness-headed goddess, sprang up on her shoulder. "My sweet little goddess of war and divine vengeance," she crooned to the kitten.   
  
Dierna snorted, but kept her opinion on that matter to herself. She located the gift from Stefan and tore off the letter first. She scanned it briefly, apparently Stefan had gotten the gift last time he was on leave from his mission and had left it with his mother to forward. She smiled as the paper came away from the gift revealing a small framed print of Hiroshige's "Inside Kameido-Tenjin Shrine". She smiled at it. She had pointed out the print to Stefan one time nearly a year ago and told him it was her favorite of Hiroshige's work. And he had remembered. She couldn't wait until she could see him again.

* * *

"A bath."   
  
"Some of Mum's biscuits."   
  
"Warm blankets."   
  
"A stiff drink."   
  
Stefan laughed mirthlessly, "this has got to be the most depressing game ever."   
  
Percy smiled weakly, "it passes the time."   
  
Stefan shrugged, "I suppose so." He absently fingered the stubble on his chin, if nothing else he could see what he would look like with a beard. If he had a mirror...  
  
"You don't know what it means to have company like this."   
  
Stefan shot a sideways glance at his cell mate, "I didn't think of that. How many years have you been here now?"   
  
Percy frowned, "no idea. They tend to run together when you're in captivity. And when you know they're going to kill you."   
  
Stefan nodded; he'd caught snatches of conversation from their captors. It appeared that the end was near. If only he could see his family one more time. And Dierna... he sighed. If he'd known this was going to happen he probably wouldn't have been such a gentleman.   
  
Both men looked up as the door creaked open. Walden Macnair gave them a broad smile, one that was not to be trusted.  
  
"Well gentlemen, it seems to be time."  
  
"Time for what you slimy git? Time for you to step down from your assumed position as Head Minister and give the government back into the hands of its true leaders?" Stefan spat.  
  
Percy picked up the line, "or maybe its time for you to take your illusions of grandeur and shove them up your..."  
  
"That's enough!" Macnair sneered. "You can't imagine the pleasure I'm going to get from watching you two die." His smile slowly returned, "We are nearly completion of our own batch of Quintessence, however we have opted to use human sacrifice."

* * *

"So..."  
  
"So...?"  
  
"You look beautiful today."   
  
"Remus honestly," Kalliope rolled her eyes, "if you're going to interrupt my lessons you better have a good reason."   
  
Nimue hid a smile behind her hand as Remus winked at her and moved to wrap his arms around Kalliope. "Do I need a reason to come see you love?"   
  
"When I'm trying to teach someone how to block and summon visions at will, yes you do."   
  
Remus took the hint, "fine, I have a class to teach anyways," and he slipped back out of the room.   
  
"Now, where were we?"   
  
"Reaching a state of relaxation and awareness so that you can summon a vision," Nimue supplied.  
  
"Good. Now close your eyes child, and stretch out your senses. Be aware of all that is going on around you. Breathe deeply and relax. When you're ready I want you to stretch out with your senses, out of your body, and see what happens..."  
  
Nimue did as she was instructed; she could feel her skin tingling with the electricity that she was picking up from the air around her.   
  
When Kalliope was sure that her student was where she needed to be, and when she had established a mental connection of her own, she gave the girl further instructions, "see the temple of the goddess in Greece, my home..."  
  
Nimue felt a tug in her chest, and when she opened her eyes she was surprised to find that she could see herself sitting on the floor. She didn't stop to dwell on that, but focused her energy on her assigned task, the temple in Greece.   
  
She closed her eyes again. Or at least that's what it felt like for her formless self that was outside of her body, and when she seemed to open them again she was presented with a scene from the interior of the temple. She observed priestesses feeding the temple's serpents, and priestesses accepting offerings in the name of the goddess. She wasn't sure how long she watched, it was so peaceful in this realm...  
  
Eventually she became aware of someone calling her name. She ignored it at first, but the voice grew more insistent. When she tried to locate the source of the voice she suddenly found herself back in her own body, sitting on the stone floor of the empty classroom where she had started out.   
  
"Well little one, I think you are ready."   
  
"Ready for what?"   
  
Kalliope smiled, "as soon as I can get you to Greece you can be initiated into the Mysteries. Provided that you are ready to devote your life to the goddess, you are ready to be a priestess."

* * *

Viviane wasn't sure she missed England at all. She and Colin were happily set up in what was commonly referred to as the refugee camp. They were in an apartment complex, which was unplotable, that was completely occupied by magical folk who were being kept out of Malfoy and his minions' reach.  
  
Right next door were the Weasleys. Viviane and Molly had taken to spending their days going out into the city under the cover of burqas and full length dresses. There was no risk of them being recognized that way, and they could explore to their hearts' content.   
  
"I didn't think you'd be back yet," Viviane said with a smile as she unwrapped herself from yards of fabric and plopped down on their bed. She reached for a pitcher and poured herself a cool glass of water. Early April in Cairo was warmer than she would have thought.   
  
Colin smiled at her; he had been out in the desert for the last week working on a temple to Pachet. The alarms on a hidden vault of Gringotts there had gone off, and the culprit had turned out to be a wandering catoblepas. "I've been thinking."   
  
"About what?" Viviane leaned up against her husband.   
  
"Well... I was thinking that maybe after all this is over we would stay here, in Cairo. But I was worried that you might not like living so far away from your family."  
  
Viviane worried her lower lip as she thought about it, "I can't say that my parents would be overly pleased to have us living so far away. But I want to, I really love it here."

* * *

Dierna gently polished the jars before placing them back on the shelves that lined her father's office. She spent every detention with her father in the same way, always cleaning his office. At least this was mindless work, her thoughts began to wander. She started in on her usual daydreams, always about her and Stefan. This mission had lasted so long; he should be coming back to her any day now. A half smile played at her lips, it was so pleasant building castles in the sky, and a wonderful distraction from the drudgery of detention.   
  
She thought about how wonderful it would be to be with Stefan again, to have him hold her, to feel his touch. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around, nearly dropping the jar she was holding in the process.   
  
"Be careful with that," Severus quietly admonished her, "those are rare," he took the jar from her and placed it back on the shelf. "You missed an entire section back there." He indicated several shelves that she had inadvertently skipped, "daydreaming again?"   
  
Dierna blushed, "yes sir."   
  
"Well don't let it interfere with your work; I want my office to be spotless before you leave."   
  
"I think that you just give me detentions when your office needs to be cleaned so that you don't have to do it yourself." Dierna's eyes sparkled mischievously; it was rather fun trying to bait her father.

"Really? I think that you earn yourself these detentions with your impudent attitude and your appalling habit of talking back to me." Severus crossed his arms over his chest and looked sternly down at his daughter. "It's barely the middle of April and I've already had you in here five times this month. Well?" He raised a questioning eyebrow, "do you agree with my assessment of the situation or am I going to get another impertinent answer?"   
  
Dierna mimicked her father's stance and the raised eyebrow and returned his piercing stare without flinching. "I still think that you're just using me for slave labor. I find nothing wrong with my attitude."  
  
"Ahhhh... yet another insolent answer, but that is what I have come to expect from you. However, you need to get back to work. Now." His stern expression melted away as he drew his daughter into him for a quick hug, "I want this finished soon." His voice was firm, but he smiled at Dierna.   
  
Dierna rolled her eyes as she turned back to the shelf she was working on. Honestly, the man never left her alone. She continued to work, the stillness only broken by the soft clink of the glass jars as she wiped them off and then returned them to the shelf. The silence was broken a few moments later by a knock at the office door.   
  
"Enter," Severus didn't look up from the papers he was grading, it seemed like there were always interruptions when he was trying to get work done.  
  
"Professor McGonagall, please say you've come to liberate me." Dierna left her place at the shelves and held her arms out, entreatingly, to the headmistress.   
  
Minerva smiled at the exuberance that Dierna put forth, so different from the outward display of her father, yet the two were so very much alike. "And what are you doing down here Adelaide, not detention again?"   
  
Dierna rolled her eyes and dropped her voice to a dramatic whisper, "it's not my fault if some evil professor has a grudge against me and I end up in detention for no good reason now is it? Honestly, it's not very fair to me."   
  
"That is quite enough of that," Severus came up behind Dierna and placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her back towards the shelves, "get back to work," he gave her a slight push.   
  
"Just a moment dear, I ran into Serena on my way down and she asked me to give this to you. She said an owl just brought it." Minerva handed a creased letter to Dierna, who frowned in uncertainty at the letter. She couldn't quite place the handwriting on the address; it was familiar, yet somehow different.

* * *

"Do you need something sweetheart?"

Olivia mournfully shook her head no.   
  
"Is anything wrong?"   
  
Another shake of her head.   
  
"Come here sweetie," Morgan opened her arms and wrapped them around Olivia as she climbed into her lap. "You can talk to me about anything Olivia. I love you very much and I don't like to see you moping around her like this."   
  
Olivia buried her face in Tristan, "nothing's wrong," she mumbled into the stuffed rabbit.   
  
"Are you sure?"   
  
Olivia nodded mutely. Yes something was wrong, but she didn't think she could tell her new mother about it. She and Diana had something they really wanted to do, and she had a feeling it was something they shouldn't do.

* * *

"Minerva, I'd be willing to wager that you did not come down here just to play currier service. What can I do for you?" A smile pulled at the corner of Severus' mouth.

McGonagall sighed, "I came to discuss with you our options concerning the rest of the quidditch season, we have to think of what the safest course of action will be."   
  
Dierna spun around quickly, "Don't cancel the rest of the season! You can't do that to us."   
  
"Dierna! I though I told you to get back to work."   
  
"Give me a chance to read my letter first," Dierna muttered something else under her breath, hoping her father didn't catch it, as she finally opened the letter. Then she felt as though her heart had stopped. She scanned the contents of the letter once, and then again. "No..." the letter fluttered gently to the floor as she felt her knees buckle and her world went black.


	67. Chapter 67

"Your leg doing any better mate?"  
  
Kamen shook his head, "no. If I had been hit with a curse we could have dealt with it a lot easier. I wasn't expecting one of those bastards to come at me with a knife. What a low way of fighting..."

William frowned, "I think we should have Pomphrey look at it. She won't ask any questions. Besides, I have a suspicion that the knife blade was dipped in something. That thing should have at least started to heal by now."   
  
Kamen disagreed, "too risky. I go to the hospital wing I guarantee you one of my parents will find out about it. I think I'll just let it go for now."   
  
"I could look at it for you."   
  
"How'd you sneak up here kid? Last time I checked these were the boys' dormitories."   
  
Sophia rolled her eyes, "I'm a priestess in training, I can get in anywhere I want."   
  
"Sounds like an abuse of power if you ask me," Kamen shot back.   
  
"Fine, don't listen to me. It's not like I've spent most of my life learning Herbology so that I can cure almost anything," she spat sarcastically.   
  
"Fine, have a look then," Kamen rolled up his pants leg exposing a nasty gash on his shin.   
  
Sophia tilted her head to the side and frowned at the wound as she thought. "Chimera blood," she finally declared.   
  
"What?"   
  
"The knife had to have been dipped in chimera blood to do that to a wound. The men's tribes use it on their arrows when they go into battle. Since they usually end up bringing their wounded back to the temple I've seen this before and I've helped the priestesses treat it."   
  
"Fine then, since you're so full of useful information how do I make it better?"  
  
Sophia glared at Kamen. She didn't like the high-handed manner which he used to deal with her.   
  
"Please Sophia, his leg has to get better before his parents notice," William interceded in an attempt to keep peace.   
  
"Well... since _one_ of you has some manners... you need to make a paste of dried hippocampus skin and mare's milk. Put it on the wound and it will draw out the poison so that it can heal."

* * *

"Dierna!" Severus caught his daughter before she hit the floor; he gently picked up her limp form and laid her down on the sofa, before retrieving the letter she had dropped. He read it quickly, and sighed deeply as the full impact of the contents hit him.   
  
"Oh dear, whatever is the matter Severus? You must have some smelling salts or something down here so that we can bring her back around."   
  
"No," Severus pulled up a chair and gently took one of Dierna's hands in his own, "no, it will probably be kinder to leave her like this for awhile." He handed the letter to Minerva who looked at him skeptically for a moment before reading the contents of the tear stained letter.   
  
_My darling Dierna,   
I am so sorry that I must be the purveyor of such horrible news, but our worst fears have been realized. I received word from the Ministry early this morning that they have had no contact with Stefan for the last several weeks, however, several of his personal effects have been found. In short, there is no reason for us to hope. I am so sorry my dear, I know how much you loved my son, and I had so looked forward to the day that you would truly be my daughter. I hope that you will continue to stop by and see me, for I love you dearly and I would hate for our relationship to end due to the untimely death of my son. I am very sorry that I could not come to give you this information personally, but with all that has happened I am unable to get away from home, and, it seems like it is almost easier to write this dreadful news. I know that I can not bring myself to say it out loud. I wish you the very best my darling girl, when you get a chance, please stop by to see me. I know there are several of Stefan's personal belongings that I would like you to have. You were his life and his entire world, he loved you dearly.  
With all my love and sorrow, yours,  
Maryann MacNeill_  
  
"Oh Severus, this is horrible. Your poor girl." Minerva wiped away a tear.   
  
Severus shook his head sadly as he looked down at Dierna. He hoped this wouldn't destroy his daughter. She had loved that boy dearly; he had seen it so clearly every time she was with him. "Minerva, please go find Morgan for me, she needs to be here for Dierna."

* * *

"Now what?" Macnair asked quietly.   
  
"We have to wait for a month," Draco replied, "We finish the potion then."   
  
"And the dark lord?"  
  
"He will rise again, more powerful than before. The Quintessence, while it does not make the drinker immortal has certain other benefits."   
  
"Like what?"   
  
"Really Macnair, you'll all by useless!" Draco spat, "but that's what I've come to expect from you... the Quintessence was developed to be a strengthener. Therefore, we can assume that it will strengthen the powers of whoever drinks it."   
  
"We could strengthen our entire army that way," Macnair suggested, "we could be invincible."   
  
"No, the effects of it have never been tested. For all we know there may be some sort of horrible side effects."   
  
"Then is it really safe to use on the dark lord?"  
  
"Of course you fool," Draco was beyond irritated, "he will be willing to overlook any minor problems considering it will be us who brought him back in the first place."

* * *

Dierna felt something soft under her head. Her eyes fluttered open but her vision was blurred, she no idea where she was. As her vision began to clear her head began to throb. Everything felt like a dream. A bad dream.   
  
She sucked in her breathe quickly as she remembered the contents of the letter from Stefan's mother. She sat up quickly, then instantly regretted it when everything around her started to spin.   
  
"You need to move slowly, otherwise you are going to pass out again," there were gentle hands on her shoulders, and she recognized her father's firm voice.   
  
Dierna closed her eyes for a moment as her head cleared; when she opened them again she fought back the tears that were threatening to form. She was in her father's office on the couch in the corner, with her mother sitting next to her. Her father was kneeling in front of her concern etched on his face.   
  
"He can't be..." Dierna was desperate. This had to be a cruel joke, it couldn't be real. "Please tell me that it's not real." She was beginning to panic. She felt so lost and helpless.   
  
"I'm so sorry child, this shouldn't have happened." Severus gently moved his hands down from his daughter's shoulders to grasp her hands.   
  
"No..." Dierna quickly stood up, she felt like there had to be a way to fight this, it just couldn't be real. Her legs started to shake, and she could feel herself starting to fall.   
  
Severus slid an arm around Dierna's waist as she started to collapse again. "Easy, you are going to hurt yourself if you aren't more careful." He gently lowered her back onto the couch.   
  
"Please... please don't let it be real," Dierna started to get up again as her voice turned frantic, "I have to go, I can find him, he can't be..." she couldn't say the word, it was too horrible.   
  
"Hush child," Severus tried to calm her, "the only place you are going right now is to bed."

* * *

Severus glanced into his bedroom, at his bed, which he had given up last night, and was satisfied to see that both his wife and daughter were still sleeping. Thankfully Morgan had no classes this morning so she could stay with Dierna awhile longer. However, this left him to make sure that Olivia got to her class on time.  
  
He was about to go find her when he felt a tug on his sleeve. "Are you ready to go?" he asked his youngest, who was looking up at him expectantly.   
  
Olivia nodded as she stole a glance into the master bedroom, "is she going to be alright?" she asked quietly.   
  
Severus sighed, "Dierna will be fine, given enough time."   
  
Olivia seemed to consider this for a moment, and then nodded in agreement, her black curls bouncing.   
  
The walk to the classroom now used for the younger girls' classes with Mrs. Figg was surprisingly silent. Severus looked down at Olivia with concern, usually she had something to chatter on about, and he didn't like the way she refused to look at him when he asked her about it. But, he decided to brush it off, it was probably nothing. He could have groaned when they reached the classroom and Olivia attached herself to Diana. It seemed his children were determined to plague him, what with one being best friends with Potter's daughter and now Olivia and the young Weasley girl.   
  
As soon as he left for his own classroom and they had made sure that Mrs. Figg's back was turned, Olivia and Diana slipped back out into the hallway and ran down the corridor giggling.   
  
"Finally, a chance to explore!" Diana exclaimed.   
  
Olivia had a feeling that they really shouldn't be doing this, but she pushed it to the back of her mind. This was going to be an adventure, "where should we go first?"

* * *

Severus paid little attention to his morning classes, rousing himself only to reduce two second year Gryffindors to tears, and to send a clumsy Hufflepuff to the infirmary. His mind was on other matters.   
  
He turned over the situation of Stefan's disappearance in his mind. He had one very strained and desperate sounding letter from Viviane that did not give him any reason for hope. And then there reports from the Ministry that Macnair had been acting awfully smug for the last few weeks, and Malfoy's followers were getting bolder and bolder. In short, the situation was not a good one and there was not a doubt in his mind that if Malfoy had decided to dispose of Stefan it had been done.   
  
He saw no reason to give his daughter false hope. It would be too cruel. This was only confirmed when a raven flew in midmorning with a letter from Eric. Although the old man knew nothing for sure, he knew that Malfoy had overseen several human sacrifices, and that he doubted anyone who had been his prisoner had survived. It was altogether discouraging.   
  
He was still pondering what to do for Dierna as he headed towards the Great Hall for lunch. And he was feeling particularly useless. Comforting the children had always been Morgan's forte. He often found himself at a loss when the girls ran to him for comfort. Their emotions were simply beyond his comprehension.   
  
He was searching about for some form of inspiration on the subject when he was shaken out of his reverie by Mrs. Figg.   
  
"Professor," she gasped, out of breath, "I don't know where they are, we've been searching all morning. I left Sir Nicolas with the other girls."   
  
"What on earth are you getting at Arabella?"   
  
"Olivia and Diana disappeared this morning, we can't find them anywhere!"

* * *

"How do we get in?" Diana frowned at the large painting of a fruit bowl.   
  
"I know!" Olivia said, "Serena told me how to. You have to tickle that green pear. But I can't reach it..."  
  
"Ummm..." Diana looked around, "lets use that bench, we can drag it over here," she pointed at a heavy wood construction sitting against the opposite wall.   
  
With much effort the two small girls managed to push and pull and tug the bench across the short expanse of hallway so that it was directly in front of the painting. They were both sweaty and more than a bit dirty by the time they finished, and they had a bad case of the giggles.   
  
Finally they both clamored up on the bench and tickled the pear together. They shrieked with delight when it turned into a door handle and they were able to enter the large kitchen.   
  
"What can we do for the little misses?" a house elf asked in a squeaky voice as she hurried forward.   
  
The girls looked at each other and grinned.   
  
"We want to have a tea party."   
  
"But not with tea, can we have juice instead?"   
  
"And little cakes and cookies?"   
  
"And can we have it down here, this kitchen is really wicked," Olivia grinned as she tested out her new vocabulary, she had picked up 'wicked' from her new siblings and was particularly fond of this new saying.   
  
"Of course little misses, right away!" the house elf scurried off to fulfill their requests. A few short minutes latter the girls were set up at a small table, complete with a tea set, which was filled with juice not tea, and more sweets then they could ever begin to consume.   
  
"This is definitely funner than going to school," Diana giggled.

* * *

Arabella wrung her hands as she paced back and forth across the teacher's lounge, "I can't believe I lost them when they were under my care. I knew it wasn't a good idea to have a useless squib like me watching over the children."   
  
"I'm sure that they're perfectly fine and will be found shortly," Professor Flitwick assured Arabella. "And if they are, then they most certainly will not be by the time Severus and Charlie get through with them."   
  
Arabella managed a tight smile, but she was still nervous. The death eaters had become much bolder lately. Would they stoop so low as to enter Hogwarts and abduct two young girls? She sighed, it seemed farfetched, but it was a possibility. The granddaughter of the displaced Head Minster and the daughter of a traitor would make excellent targets for Malfoy.

* * *

"Zach, you're sure the girls haven't been down here?" Minerva asked, her brow creased with worry.   
  
"Not the ones you're looking for, however," he gave Angie, who he was holding onto by the neck of her robes a little shake, "I found this one."   
  
Minerva gave a curt nod and headed back towards the castle.  
  
"You're not going to write a letter to my parents are you? Or tell my uncle will you? Can't we just keep this between us? Please..." Angie pleaded.   
  
Zach rolled his eyes, "I'm tired of chasing you away from the dragons Miss Weasley. I'm not going to tell your uncle, because he has too much on his mind right now. And I'm not a teacher here so I don't have authority to write to your parents. However, I'm sure your head of house would be more than happy to write to them."   
  
"I won't go near the dragons again, I promise! Please don't have Lupin write to my parents."   
  
"Mmm-hmmm... that's what you told me last time and look where we are now."   
  
Angie groaned, "But I really mean it this time."   
  
"I'm sure you do."   
  
"I'm not getting out of this am I?"   
  
"Nope."  
  
"Bloody Americans."  
  
"I heard that, its not helping your case. The dragons are here for a reason, to protect the students, and they can't protect you if you're trying to get eaten by one."   
  
"I can't help it if they're sooo cool, I just wanted to see them up close," Angie protested.   
  
Zach smiled at her passion. It was the same way he felt when he had been in school.

* * *

Severus and Charlie worked on searching the castle from top to bottom as the afternoon drew to a close. Morgan had remained in the Snapes' chambers with Dierna, while Meg was waiting in her and Charlie's rooms in case the girls came back there. The atmosphere had become very tense as people began to fear the worse. Not even any of the portraits that had been questioned remembered having seen the girls all afternoon.   
  
"Maser Snape, Master Snape!" Misty the house elf, dressed in a ruffled, pink pillowcase caught up with Severus and Charlie where they were searching the dungeons, "Misty knows where the little misses is!"   
  
"Where?!" both men spun around and asked as one.  
  
Misty fought to catch her breath, she had hurried to find them as quickly as she could, "Dobby is saying that the little misses have been in the kitchen all day playing. They is still there now Dobby says."

* * *

Serena wrapped her arms around Nick's waist and kissed his neck.   
  
"What do you want hon? I'm working on tactics for the next game."   
  
Serena sighed and rested her head on his shoulder, "nothing I guess."   
  
Nick turned his head to look at her and shut his play book, "ok, spill, that is not what you look like when there is nothing on your mind."   
  
Serena shrugged, "if you're busy..."  
  
"And now you're avoiding the subject, we can do this the hard way or the easy way, but I have every intention of finding out what is bothering you. And you know I'm never too busy for you."

Serena started to cry as Nick's arms encircled her. "I don't know what to do for Dierna. We're so used to sharing everything, but now that Stefan is... is... gone... I don't know what to..." she choked on her tears as she leaned against her boyfriend. "It's just not fair!"   
  
Nick held Serena, just letting her cry. When her tears subsided enough that he thought she would hear what he had to say he tried to comfort her, "I know how you feel hon. Dierna is my closest friend. I can't stand to see her hurt, and it's so hard to watch you hurting over this too."   
  
Serena sniffled, "Mum and Dad have never talked about the last war against Voldemort. They won't bring it up, and when any of us have ever asked about it they don't answer. But I wonder... if maybe this is what its like. Losing people you care about. And for no apparent reason. Why does this happen? What is the point? I'm not sure it's worth the lost lives... not when it hits our family like this."   
  
"I think the cause is worthwhile though. We can't let Voldemort win."  
  
"No we can't..."

* * *

Meg started sobbing when Charlie brought Diana back to their rooms. She alternated between nearly crushing the girl in a hug and looking her over to make sure she was unhurt. "What happened sweetie? Where have you been all day? You're not hurt are you? I'm so glad that you're alright. I've been so worried... when I think what could have happened to you..."  
  
Diana looked uncertainly between her parents as she bit her lower lip in indecision.   
  
"Tell her where you have been," Charlie commanded in a tone that Diana knew better than to disobey.   
  
Diana shifted from foot to foot nervously, "Well..."  
  
"Tell her," it was a much harsher command this time.   
  
Diana looked down at the floor, "me and Olivia thought it would be fun to explore, and we found the kitchens... soooo... we've been playing down there all day."

Meg clutched her daughter to her chest, "I'm so glad you're alright, but I can't believe you did that! I've been worried sick. I don't know if I want to hug you or smack you at this point."   
  
"I know what my vote on that issue is," Charlie crossed his arms over his chest.   
  
Diana's lower lip began to tremble as she realized just how angry her father was.   
  
"I cannot believe the stunt you pulled today young lady."   
  
"I'm sorry."   
  
"That doesn't change the amount of worry and fear you put your mother and me through today."   
"Diana, what you did today was completely unacceptable," Meg inserted quietly. She glanced at her husband before continuing, "I want you to go to your room now and think about how much trouble you caused for everyone today. We'll be in to talk to you in a few minutes."   
  
"Am I in a lot of trouble?" Diana sniffed.  
  
"Yes." Meg waited until their daughter was in her room before turning to her husband, "I know you're angry Charlie, so am I. But we're not going in there until you calm down a little bit. She knows she's in trouble, she doesn't need to be scared of you on top of that."

* * *

Dierna decided to retreat back to the Gryffindor tower for awhile when her father, who looked absolutely furious, returned dragging a whimpering Olivia behind him.   
  
She was grateful to find the 6th year girls' dorm empty. She wasn't in the mood to talk. She sank down onto the edge of her bed and buried her face in her hands. But she didn't cry. There hadn't been any tears yet. The part of her that wanted to believe Stefan was still alive, despite all the evidence to the contrary, knew that if she cried she'd be accepting the fact that he was really gone. She wasn't ready for that yet.   
  
"Hey... would you like some company... or I can just go away if you want," Nimue said tentatively from the doorway.   
  
Dierna managed a small shrug, "you can come in if you want. It doesn't really matter. It doesn't feel like anything matters anymore..." she was no longer talking to her sister, but staring vacantly off into space.   
  
"I was wondering..." Nimue looked at her sister apprehensively, "I was wondering if you'd opened the box that Stefan gave to you before he left."   
  
"What?" Dierna's eyes grew large as she stared at her sister for a long moment, "I'd forgotten about that..." she practically dove off of her bed to dig underneath it for the small box that Stefan had left her with. The one that she was instructed to open only if something happened to him.   
  
She resurfaced from under the bed cradling it in her hands. It was so small really, and yet it was all she really had left from him at this point. A part of her wanted to break down and cry, to scream at the top of her lungs, to curl up in a little ball and just stop living, as she realized this was the last thing Stefan would ever give her.   
  
"Would you like me to leave?" Nimue asked in her quiet way. Dierna would have killed to possess that kind of constant calm and composure at this point. How did her little sister manage it?   
  
"No, you can stay. I'm not so sure I want to be alone after all."   
  
Dierna didn't realize she was holding her breath until after she had the twine untied from the box. She pulled out the contents, a folded piece of parchment. As she carefully unfolded it something small and gold fell into her lap. She wrapped her left hand around the small metal object as she read the letter, written in Stefan's familiar hand.   
  
_My dearest Dierna, I can only assume that if you're reading this you have either disobeyed my instructions and you're going to have to answer for it when I come home, or that something has happened to me. I would like to think it is the former, but I've known all along that it was likely to be the latter. It was so hard for me to tell you goodbye this summer, especially knowing that there was a good chance I wouldn't be coming back to you. But I couldn't tell you that, I couldn't be selfish and ruin your last memories of me by destroying all of our hopes and dreams for the future. There is so much I wanted to tell you in this letter, but I'm starting to question how much I should say. In short, I love you. From the moment I set eyes on you I was infatuated. You're everything I ever hoped for and so much more. I wanted to marry you; I was only waiting until I was sure your father wouldn't kill me for asking. You'll find enclosed what would have been your engagement ring, had I been given the chance to give it to you. I would have liked to have given it to you the night I left. To go down on one knee and give you the kind of proposal you deserve. But somehow it didn't seem right, I didn't want to claim you for myself when I knew the odds against my returning to you. Please keep the ring. I would be honored if you wore it and thought of me.   
__I will always love you,   
__Stefan  
_  
Dierna sighed heavily as she tightened her grip on the ring before opening her hand to look at it. She fingered the smooth gold band set with a pearl with a small diamond on either side, "he always knew pearls were my favorite..." She hesitated a moment before slipping it onto her left ring finger. It fit perfectly, but she ripped it off again right away. If she put it on herself she was admitting he was gone. He was supposed to give it to her. 


	68. Chapter 68

Olivia crossed her arms over her chest and resisted the urge to kick the wall again. She had been warned twice already and was pretty sure she didn't want to find out how the professor was going to carry out his threat to make sure she would stay still if she did it again. Her bottom lip was sticking out a mile as she stared at the stone wall. She had quickly decided that this had to be the most boring corner in all of the school. And she wasn't even aloud to hold Tristan for company.  
  
She didn't dare risk looking over her shoulder to see if anyone was still in the room. She squirmed on the hard wooden chair and waited for a command to sit still but none came. Maybe she was alone now... She remembered what she was supposed to be thinking about, how dangerous it was to run off like she had, how much worry she caused, how it was her job to go to class even if she had just wanted to have fun. It was all so boring, just like this stupid corner!   
  
Still no sounds from the room behind her. She very carefully extended one leg until her toes hit the wall in front of her gently, not making any noise. No response. She tapped the wall a bit harder this time. And again. She was about to draw her foot back to kick the wall a fourth time when she was suddenly hoisted out of her seat and one stinging smack was delivered to her backside. She was too shocked to make any noise.   
  
"You were told repeatedly to sit still, how much effort does that take child?" Severus asked in exasperation as he set her on her feet.   
  
"A lot," Olivia answered sullenly.   
  
"Do you really want to give me more of that attitude after what you did today?"   
  
Olivia scowled at him, "we just wanted to have fun..."  
  
"And you ended up having half the castle searching frantically for you, besides the fact that your mother and I were beside ourselves with worry. Did you think about that?"   
  
Olivia sniffed as she looked down at the floor, several tears dripped off of her nose.   
  
"There is no use crying over it now child, tears are not going to change how much trouble you are in."   
  
"But..." she sniffed and ran a grimy fist over her eyes, "you're not going to want me anymore now. Are you going to send me away 'cause I'm so bad?"   
  
Severus glanced around the room, his eyes landing on his wife, but the look she was giving him clearly said that this was a question he had to answer. Sighing, Severus knelt down so that he was closer to eye level with the girl. "Olivia Cathleen I want you to look at me," he waited until her watery blue eyes rose to meet his, "you are not now, nor have you ever been bad. Your actions today were far from exemplary, and will not ever be repeated, but that does not change your position in this family. We would never send you away."   
  
"Really? Even when I do not so good things like today?" Olivia eyes shown with hope.   
  
"Even then," Severus assured her, "and even when you are in desperate need of a bath," he added, his mouth twitching slightly in amusement as he assessed the grimy state of her hands and face.  
  
"I'm sorry," Olivia said morosely as she hung her head again and more tears flowed.   
  
"That's enough of that now," Severus hated tears, "you are getting a bath and then going to bed early. In fact, I think an early bed time is in order for the rest of the week."   
  
"'k..." Olivia hesitated a moment before throwing her arms around the professor's neck. He was still a little scary, and she wasn't ready to think of him as her father yet, even though she already thought of Morgan as her mum. But she did like him.   
  
Severus awkwardly hugged the little girl back, "right then, go get ready for your bath," he directed as he disengaged her arms from his neck and watched her dash towards her room.

"Would it kill you to show a little more emotion sometimes Sev?" Morgan asked from her spot leaning against the wall.   
  
"Just because you are angry with me does not mean..."  
  
"Dammit Sev, do not change the subject. I don't understand this wall you have built up around you, I never have. When it's just the two of us you are one of the most passionate people I know, but I don't understand why it is so hard for you to show affection to anyone else. Not even to the children."   
  
"They know I love them."   
  
"Knowing it and hearing it are too completely different things. Olivia needs to hear it from you, especially now if you want to really make her your daughter."   
  
Severus sighed, "I will try harder, does that make you happy?"   
  
"What would make me happy is if you hadn't given Misty the good pillow cases. I saw what she was wearing. Those were wedding gifts."   
  
"They are pink." Severus stated, that was all the excuse he felt he needed.   
  
"I liked them."   
  
"You would."   
  
Morgan crossed her arms over her chest and stared up at her husband stubbornly, "you are unfeeling, callous, and cold-hearted, with no idea how..."  
  
Severus gently covered his wife's mouth with his hand, silencing her. "You are worn out, and have had two daughters to worry over today more than usual. Don't run yourself into the ground Morgan, and do not start picking fights with me because you don't know what else to do."   
  
"I really did like those pillow cases," she mumbled miserably.   
  
"Shhhh... go to bed Morgan. I'll see that Olivia gets tucked in, you take care of yourself tonight."

* * *

"You could at least wipe your feet when you come in," Ginny snapped at her husband, "I don't need to spend the rest of my night cleaning up after you."   
  
"I'll take care of it."   
  
"You always say that, and you never do."   
  
"I will, don't get so riled up over a little mud."   
  
"Don't start with me Harry, the only company I've had the last couple of weeks has been our daughter. When you said you were coming home I would have liked to at least have an adult conversation, and not spend that time repairing the wreck you make of our house!"   
  
Harry fought a smile as his aggravated wife turned back to the dishes she was working on, "I told Minerva that I'm not living at the school next year. I'm going to live here with you and Lily."   
"What?!"   
  
Harry frowned, "I thought that was what you wanted, but if you think we still need more time to work this out..."  
  
Ginny cut him off by throwing herself into his arms and sobbing, "that's exactly what I want you git! I want us to be a family again. I love you Harry, you've just been too dense the last couple of years to understand that."   
  
Harry knew he was grinning like an idiot as he picked Ginny up off the floor and spun her around, "as long as we realized that we still have a ways to go in putting this marriage back together..."  
  
"and that we're going to fight..."  
  
"but then we get to make up again..."  
  
"I'm not used to having you around the house, I'm going to have to get used to it again."   
  
"I can't wait. I want to have dinner with you every night Ginny, I want to go to bed next to you, and wake to find you beside me in the morning. I want our children to know that we love each other. I want the kind of passion we had when we first got married..."  
  
Ginny suddenly became sober, "it's ironic you know. We were in the middle of a war against Voldemort when we first realized we loved each other, and now we entering another one... there have only been a handful of our years together as a couple that have been blessed with peace. But, I like thinking that I have you again. That we're going to start living as a married couple again, and I'll have you here beside me."   
  
"I like it too," Harry pushed up his glasses, which had started to slip off when he spun his wife around, "maybe we can even..."  
  
"Daddy!" Lily flew into the room and attacked Harry's legs.   
  
"And how's my little girl?" Harry asked as he swung her up into her arms.   
  
She responded by burying her face against his shoulder, "I missed you."   
  
"I missed you too."   
  
"Lily, how would you like it if Daddy stayed here with us next year instead of living at the school?" Ginny traced her fingers in a feather soft caress up her husband's sleeve. She hadn't felt this giddy in a long time.   
  
Lily bit her lip in indecision, "if you live here will you bring Ralph back too? I think he'd be lonely living at the school all by himself."   
  
Harry fought the urge to laugh, realizing that his daughter was completely serious, "of course Ralph will come back. If you want I can bring him home to you now."   
  
Lily shook her head, "no, you still need him to keep you company at school, just make sure nothing happens to him."

* * *

Viviane tried to untangle herself from Colin's arms, "let me go, I have to get the door."   
  
"It's no one, just let it go."   
  
Viviane rolled her eyes at him, "you need to go out into the desert more often Mr. Bennet, you're very attentive when you come back. But I do need to get the door."   
  
"If you must," Colin heaved a long suffering sigh as he let his wife go.   
  
"Brute," she called back over her shoulder.   
  
"Brat," he returned affectionately.   
  
Viviane was still smiling when she opened the door, "can I help you?" she asked, a bit confused. She didn't recognize the man standing outside their door and this was a protected community.   
  
"Mrs. Bennet?" he asked a bit uncertainly.   
  
"Yes, I'm Mrs. Bennet," a fact that caused the smile to return.   
  
The man, she placed him in his late 20s maybe early 30s, removed his hat, "I'm from the Ministry ma'am, I've been sent to... well... the fact is I have just about the worst job at the Ministry. I never have been any good at this," he withdrew a sheet of parchment from the bag slung across his shoulder. "I've just come from giving the news to the MacNeills, one of the aurors at the Ministry, red haired chap, think he is the Head Minister's, the real Head Minister's not this son-of-a... well, he said you had a right to know to, seeing how you worked with him and all."   
  
Viviane found her hand was shaking slightly as she took the parchment. It was that particular shade of dark, dull, gold that was only used for one purpose.   
  
The messenger noticed as the color drained from her face and observed her shaking hands, "real sorry to be the bearer of bad news ma'am. Do you have someone at home, or a neighbor you're close to? No one should be alone when they get news like this."   
  
It took Viviane a minute to respond to his question, "yes, yes my husband is home. I'll be fine, thank you. But, could you tell me, please... how are his parents doing, did they seem..."  
  
"They were about as well as can be expected under the circumstances. And now if you'll excuse me," he placed his hat back on his head, "I've got a couple more of these to deliver tonight. And once again, sorry about your lose."   
  
Viviane closed the door, her hands still shaking violently. She barely noticed when Colin came up behind her and laid his hands on her shoulder. Barely aware of how his strong, capable hands covered hers and helped her unfold that horrible piece of parchment. A death notice.   
  
"So, it's official now," Colin hugged his wife close to him.   
  
"Yes... I..." Viviane closed her eyes, trying to remember Ministry policy on these death notices.   
  
"They have to have found the body Viv, or have undeniable proof," Colin said gently.   
  
Viviane nodded, tears sliding down her cheeks. "I'm going to go write to my sister, she deserves to hear it from me, not from anyone else."

* * *

"Are you dragging your feet this morning for a reason miss?" Morgan asked as she escorted Olivia to class the next morning.   
  
"Yes."   
  
Morgan resisted the temptation to smile, "well see if you can't walk just a little bit faster, otherwise I'm going to be late to class too."   
  
They reached the door to the classroom at the same time as Charlie, who was holding both Cassandra and Diana by the hand.   
  
Mrs. Figg came stepped out of the room, "I'm so glad both of you are alright girls, I was so worried about you yesterday."   
  
Morgan nudged Olivia, who took the hint and spoke up in a small voice, "I'm sorry we ran off yesterday and worried you."   
  
Diana responded to a similar nudge, "Me too, I'm sorry."   
  
Morgan knelt down in front of her daughter, "I want you to remember what we talked about yesterday, and make sure you wear your hat and your scarf if you go outside to play this morning. I don't want you catching cold."   
  
"Yes Mum," Olivia rolled her eyes, which started a whole new lecture.   
  
As soon as their parents were gone Diana grabbed Olivia's hand and dragged her across the classroom over to the window, "I guess the tea party wasn't such a good idea," she admitted.   
  
"Guess not," Olivia agreed.  
  
"How much trouble did you get in?"   
  
Olivia wrinkled her nose in disgust, "I had to listen to a _really_ long lecture, and then I had to sit in the corner like forever!!! And they made me go to bed early, and I have an early bedtime for a week. It's not fair..."  
  
Diana's pout matched Olivia's, "yeah, I got it bad too. They took away most of my toys for a whole week! Don't think I'm gonna make it..."  
  
The girls finished commiserating with each other and settled down to their lessons. Midmorning Mrs. Figg announced that they were going to go outside to play for awhile, as long as they all stayed together and stayed out of the worst mud puddles. The spring thaw had started and the Hogwarts' grounds were only dotted with a few last snow drifts, with a lot of wet, brown yard in between.   
  
Olivia and Diana held hands as they raced across the school grounds; both well bundled up against the still cold weather. Mrs. Figg had said that as long as they were where she could see them and that they could hear her calling them to come in they could play where they wanted.   
  
The girls made a few rather slushy snowballs, but decided that it just wasn't that much fun with just the two of them. They decided to explore the big rock near the lake, and had a race to see which of them could climb up the shoulder height boulder fastest.   
  
They sat up there for awhile, pointing at the clouds and trying to figure out what they looked the most like.   
  
"Mrs. Figg's calling, we better go," Diana said, finally sitting up.   
  
"Wait, my scarf!" Olivia looked frantically between the path back up to the school where Mrs. Figg was waiting and the way down to the lake where her scarf had been blown off to, "I gotta get my scarf," she clambered down the rock and after her scarf which had blown onto the ice of the lake, as she tried to get it the thin ice gave way beneath her and she went under the water with a shriek.

* * *

"What are we working on today?" Dierna asked as she entered her father's office, ready to start a new project in her independent study. She had received Viviane's letter that morning, read it dry eyed, and decided that throwing herself into her school work was the best thing she could do to keep her mind off the horrible truth.   
  
"We are going to sit down and talk," Severus informed her.   
  
"About what?"   
  
Severus leveled her with a piercing stare, "you know what," he grasped her elbow in his hand and steered her to the couch and sat down beside her. "I know you miss Stefan, but..."&  
  
"He can't really be gone..." Dierna mumbled.   
  
"But he is."   
  
Dierna leaned her head against her father's shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her. He ran a hand over her bright curls, as he gently brushed the hair out of her eyes.   
  
Dierna closed her eyes; she was exhausted, both mentally and physically. But she couldn't sleep, not with her world spinning out of control the way it was. She snuggled closer into her father's embrace as she felt his arms tighten around her. All she wanted was to be held.   
  
Severus readjusted his hold on his daughter, trying to make her more comfortable. He sighed audibly as she leaned against him, wishing he could make everything in the world right for her.   
  
Dierna shifted so that she could look up at her father when he sighed, "what is it?"  
  
Severus smiled sadly, "I was just thinking."   
  
"About what?" Dierna had the edge of his robe in her hand, and was absently fingering the border on it, something that Severus could remember her doing when she was very young when she was scared or hurt.   
  
"I was thinking about when you were a little girl. When you were hurt or scared or upset all I had to do was hold you in my lap and you would be happy again. I could chase away all your sorrows so easily. I wish I could do that for you now, I hate seeing you hurt like this." There was a touch of sadness and regret in his voice as he closed his eyes against the pain he felt for his daughter.   
  
A single tear rolled down Dierna's face. Severus looked down at the grief stricken face of his little girl, thinking that she was too young to have to know sorrow like this, as he gently brushed the single tear from her face. "Dierna, cry if you want, you don't have to put up this brave front. Don not try to hide your sorrow; I know that you have lost a large part of your life."   
  
"If I cry, I'll be recognizing that he's really gone. I can't do that. He can't really be gone, I would feel it if he was, instead I feel nothing."   
  
"I know accepting this is hard, but you need to keep living. I have watched you walk around here the last few days; you've only become a ghost of your old self. You haven't slept, you haven't eaten. I'm not going to watch you waste away. Remember what you had with Stefan, mourn him, but live your life."   
  
"I'm not sure I'm ready for that," Dierna reached into her pocket and pulled out the ring, "Stefan left this for me, it was supposed to be my engagement ring. But I can't wear it, not when I was waiting for him to give it to me..."  
  
Severus fought down the initial feeling of anger he felt over knowing that someone wanted to marry his little girl, she was still so young. His heart squeezed with compassion as he realized how torn his daughter was. "Sit tight for a moment, I have an idea." He went over to his desk and rummaged in the top drawer for a moment before withdrawing a necklace Morgan had left in his classroom earlier that week. He slipped the charm off of it and carried the chain back to his daughter, "here, I know your loyalty to that boy; perhaps you could wear the ring around your neck?"   
  
Dierna nodded thoughtfully, "I think I can do that now. I'm just not ready to wear it on my hand."   
  
They sat in silence for awhile after that, Severus doing his best, which wasn't that much, to comfort his daughter. He knew he wasn't good at this sort of thing, but at least he could try.   
  
The silence was interrupted by the sound of feet running down the hallway, and then the office door being thrown open.   
  
"Professor!" Mrs. Figg burst into the room, carrying a dripping wet, and slightly blue looking Olivia, "she fell into the lake, I got her out right away but it was closer to bring her here than the infirmary."

* * *

Eva tried to shift the precariously balanced stack of books in her arms as she reached her room so that she could get to the door handle. She almost had it when the stack started to topple, the weight and the sudden change enough to throw her off balance so that she started to fall.   
  
But she was caught by a strong pair of hands before she could hit the floor. She looked up as she was set back on her feet, brushing her blond hair out of her eyes, "Zach, danke schön."   
  
Zach smiled, "I'm sorry I couldn't catch the books too, but my first concern was you."   
  
Eva felt her cheeks turn pink, not sure what the implications of that simple statement were. "The books do not matter; I can easily pick them up."   
  
"Here, let me help," Zach bent to reach for one text at the same time as Eva and they ended up knocking heads.   
  
Eva giggled as she brought a hand up to her forehead, "I'm not sure how much help you are Herr O'Hara, perhaps you are just making things worse?"   
  
"Can I make it up to you?"   
  
Eva caught her lower lip between her teeth and looked shyly up at him, not quite sure how to respond. "What does this making up include?"   
  
Zach had to think quickly, he hadn't had anything specific in mind, "could I take you to dinner? They've started to rebuild Hogsmeade and a couple of the restaurants have reopened. Maybe we could go..."  
  
"Ja, I would like that," Eva interrupted, red staining her cheeks.   
  
"Yay!!! It took you two long enough," Clara said, sticking her head out the door.   
  
"Clara!!! How long have you been there?" Eva spun around, her face, if possible, turning several shades closer to crimson.   
  
"Long enough to know that you too like each other," the girl said in a sing- song voice, "Tante Eva, du liebst Zach, und er liebt dich auch!   
  
Eva brought her hands up to her flaming cheeks as she turned to face Zach again, "I'm sorry, but I should go now. We'll talk about this dinner later, ja?"   
  
"Of course," Zach could feel the heat rising in his own face as he realized what Clara had said.


	69. Chapter 69

"What am I going to do with you child?" Severus asked in exasperation as he deposited Olivia in the bathtub and began stripping her dripping clothing off of her shivering body. "You are a magnet for trouble."   
  
"I'm sorry," Olivia whimpered through blue lips.   
  
"What were you thinking going out on that ice?" Severus asked as he finished undressing her and wrapped her in a towel, drying her off briskly.   
  
"My scarf blew off and I was trying to get it," she said through chattering teeth.   
  
Severus looked over to Dierna who was hovering near by, "go find a nightgown for her."   
  
Dierna silently slipped out of the bathroom to do as she was told.   
  
As soon as Severus had Olivia completely dry, save her hair. He got her into her nightgown and wrapped a quilt snuggly around her and carried her to the couch in the living room. He sat down with her in his lap and held her close, "are you feeling warmer?"   
  
"Still cold..."  
  
"Here, give me your hands," Severus rubbed her fingers brusquely between his hands, making sure the circulation was flowing, and reached down to do the same to her feet.   
  
Olivia kicked at him as he started to rub warmth back into her small feet and glowered darkly.   
  
"You keep that up," Severus told her sternly, as he reached for her feet again, "and I will make sure that your bottom is good and warm before I check to make sure your feet are starting to warm up."   
  
Olivia started to cry and tried to hide herself in the folds of the quilt.   
  
"Child, I am not all that angry with you," Severus said, thinking it was his harsh tone that had caused the tears, "just trying to figure out if you can go more than two days without getting into trouble."   
  
"But you're really gonna want to send me away now! I'm too much trouble, you said so."   
  
Severus sighed, "You are not too much trouble, and as I told you last night we would never send you away. You are my little girl and I..." he thought of Morgan's instructions, "and I love you too much to send you away now. You just have a tendency to scare me half to death. If it's not running away it's falling into partially frozen lakes."   
  
"You're really not angry?"   
  
"No. It would not be very fair for me to be angry with you. Unless you fell in the lake on purpose?" He raised an eyebrow.   
  
Olivia, wide eyed, quickly shook her head no.   
  
"Dierna, bring us the story book on the middle shelf over there," Severus said as he readjusted Olivia in his lap.   
  
Dierna returned with the large illustrated volume and curled up next to her father on the couch.   
  
An arm around each of the girls Severus opened the book and began reading, "once upon a time..."  
  
When Morgan returned at lunch, looking for her husband, she found him and both girls fast asleep on the couch. Tears welled up in her eyes at the picture they made.

* * *

Kamen decided to blow off his afternoon classes. He was starting to have second thoughts about the Brotherhood and he wanted some answers. Since his father was occupied teaching classes he managed to slip into his office and floo to the Grigorian brotherhood headquarters.   
  
"Kamen, what are you doing here?" Armand asked as he rose from his chair.  
  
"I want some answers before I go any farther with this. I don't feel like we're accomplishing anything, and I'm not so sure I like the cause that you support. I don't think all this violence is necessary."   
  
Armand nodded thoughtfully, "I understand how you might feel that way. But there is no backing out now. You are part of the brotherhood and I can't let you leave."   
  
"What are you going to do if I decide I'm going?"   
  
"Keep you here by force if necessary, obliviate your memory, the possibilities are endless..."  
  
"Give me one good reason why I should stay. One good reason for going along with your brotherhood."   
  
"I once felt the same way as you kid, but then I learned the truth. Come with me," Armand grabbed his cloak and threw a spare one to Kamen, "I'll show you why you should stay."   
  
Kamen glared at the slightly older man, but grudgingly threw the wool cloak around his shoulders and followed him outside. "Where are we going?" he couldn't help asking.   
  
"Not many know why this location was chosen for the Brotherhood this time around Kamen," Armand answered. "Headquarters move from time to time, whenever we feel we are needed we spring up again, always in a location well suited to our main target."   
  
"What the hell are you talking about Armand?! I've seen enough to know that your brotherhood is primarily militant. Are you talking about a prime target, is this nothing short of a terrorist group?"  
  
Armand sighed, "You ask hard questions kid. No, I would not say we're terrorists, nor are we a cult all into the brainwashing thing. The Grigorian Brotherhood dates back many centuries. Many prominent witches and wizards were members. Salazar Slytherin himself was head of the brotherhood at one time. Probably one of the greatest leaders we've ever had. He saved a lot of lives when the church really started trying to persecute the magical community."   
  
"You still haven't answered my first question, what is the point of all this?"   
  
"Our purpose is simple, to destroy anyone who is a threat to the magical community as a whole. Stop." Armand held out his arm to stop Kamen dead in his tracks. "This is our destination."   
  
Kamen looked across the field to a bleak manor house, "where are we?"   
  
"Draco Malfoy's headquarters. Look."   
  
Kamen squinted as he tried to look, unfortunately into the glare of the setting sun, "what am I looking at?"   
  
"Hanging from the trees, this is one of our minor reasons for wanting to destroy these forces..."  
  
Kamen brought a hand up to shield his vision; he could make out something dark and bulky hanging from the trees. He was still trying to figure out what it was when the sun dipped behind the manor, allowing him to see. His eyes went wide in shock as his face paled. He felt the bile rising in his throat, but did nothing to stop it. He feel onto his knees as he retched up what was left of his lunch from that day, "who are they?" he finally managed to choke out.   
  
"Muggles." Armand stated calmly as he continued to watch the disemboweled bodies swaying from the trees. "They have taken muggle-hating to a whole new level. Muggles authorities are starting to notice the disappearances. We've managed to keep ourselves separate for so long, Malfoy, with his plans to revive Voldemort, is out to destroy all of that."   
  
"What does that matter?"  
  
"You've seen how muggles treat us. Always looking for an excuse to condemn and destroy. They never quite seem to get it right, most of the burnings they succeeded with were actually muggles falsely accused of witchcraft, or children from magical communities who had not yet been trained. Recently there has been less interest in persecution, and I intend to keep it that way. We are better off being separate from the non-magic world. Malfoy's and ultimately Voldemort's plan is for complete domination. They'll start with the magical world and move on to the non-magical."   
  
"We can't stay hidden if they do that..."  
  
"No we can't. That is why they must be stopped. We are protectors of the people; we cannot fail them in this." 

* * *

Olivia spent the time after dinner contently coloring, sharing Severus' desk with him. The fall into the lake that morning seemed to have hardly fazed her. Once she was warm again she had burst right back into her usual energetic mode.   
  
Morgan smiled slightly as she looked into Severus' office, seeing her husband, whom she thought looked adorable in his reading glasses, not that she could ever tell him that, bent over a stack of essays he was grading, with Olivia across from him with her crayons. "I think it's about someone's bedtime," Morgan said, breaking the silence.   
  
Olivia looked up, a pout quickly coming into place, "nooo... it's too early!"   
  
Severus pulled out his pocket watch, "it's just after 7, and I believe we set bedtime at 7:30 for the rest of the week as part of your punishment for running off."   
  
Morgan tried desperately to fight a smile at the storm cloud gathering across her daughter's face, "come on Olivia, if you get ready for bed quickly we'll still have time for a story before lights out."   
  
Olivia looked between her parents, hoping that one of them would give in and grant her a reprieve. Finding no hope in it she sighed, and looking as one being led to the gallows, took Morgan's hand as they headed back to their living quarters, "I still think its mean to make me go to bed early," she mumbled.   
  
Morgan did smile at that, "sweetie, that's what happens when you misbehave, there are consequences."   
  
"But I fell in a _lake_ today! Shouldn't that mean that I'm too distraught to be sent to bed early?"   
  
"Wouldn't that have made you more upset and tired you out so you would want to go to bed early?" Morgan countered.   
  
Olivia frowned as she tried to work out that line of reasoning, but all too soon found herself in bed and the lights being turned out.   
  
Once Morgan was sure that Olivia was out for the night she slipped back into her husband's office where he was still bent over his papers. "How much more work do you have to do tonight?"   
  
Severus glanced up from the stack of parchment to his wife, "more than I care to think about."   
  
"Alright," Morgan gave a small sigh, "I think I might just turn in early myself, I've been dragging a bit lately."   
  
Severus removed his reading glasses and set them aside as he frowned slightly at his wife, "come here Morgan."   
  
Morgan crossed the room to stand at her husband's side, not minding at all when he pulled her down onto his lap.   
  
"Care to tell me what is on your mind?"  
  
Morgan leaned her head against her husband's shoulder, "I just want to be held."   
  
"You are worried about something."  
  
"Actually two somethings," Morgan elaborated, "Viviane and Dierna. Viviane feels guilty about Stefan's death. And Dierna... she's not taking it well at all. There are no tears, she's just stopped functioning."   
  
"Our daughter is tougher than you think, she will be fine eventually."

* * *

"It's gotten warmer out, hard to believe that May is here already," the woman offered conversationally.   
  
"If you can't contribute to what we're doing, then you can just stay out of this!" Malfoy snapped.   
  
The woman smirked as she tossed her blond hair over her shoulder, "since you're stalling, I figured I might as well help you stall a bit more."   
  
Malfoy all but snarled at her, "I am not stalling; I am simply trying to make sure that this is done properly. We have not waited years to bring Voldemort back to botch it all up by using the wrong dose of Quintessence. You should know that better than anyone."   
  
"Yes, but it does not mean that I do not see how scared you are. After all, this is one of the most powerful wizards ever, probably with his heart, or lack thereof, set on vengeance..."  
  
"Macnair, get her out of here!" Malfoy growled, "I do not need some fool woman hanging over my shoulder while we do this."   
  
"I'll leave on my own," the woman said smoothly, wrapping her cloak around her shoulders, "it's time I got back anyways."

* * *

Dierna hugged her knees to her chest as she sat on the cool stone tiles of the astronomy tower. She still insisted to herself that Stefan couldn't really be gone; it just wasn't supposed to happen that way. They had so many plans, so many dreams...   
  
She muttered an expletive she had picked up from her father as she shifted on the hard floor. As much agony as it seemed to come with she found herself wishing that she had her little sister's talent of Sight, then maybe she could no for certain.   
  
She stared blankly ahead as dark clouds gathered overhead, not noticing as a cooler wind swept over her. She didn't notice when the first raindrops started to fall, spotting the stones around her with small dark circles.   
  
"Dierna, come inside," Nick said as he joined her.   
  
"Why?"   
  
"Because it's raining you silly git and you've been sitting up here for hours."   
  
"Me and Stephan used to sneak up here; we'd watch the stars move across the sky..."  
  
"Hon, come on down. You're going to miss dinner if you don't hurry, and you've already missed enough meals lately for me to worry. You lose much more weight and you're going to be in no condition to play in the Quidditch match next week. It's our last one of the season..."  
  
Dierna sighed, "I'm not really hungry Nick, if I want something later I'll go down to the kitchens."   
  
"Alright..." Nick hesitated uncertainly, "will you at least come inside?"

* * *

Zach knocked at the door again and frowned slightly when he got no response. He tried yet another time, and was about to try the handle when the door swung open.   
  
"Zach," Eva turned several shades paler, "I'm so sorry, I completely forgot about the time and I fell asleep..." she trailed off as she looked up at him guiltily.   
  
"It's alright," Zach assured her with a smile, "I was just starting to get hungry so I thought I'd come find you."   
  
Eva's look brightened a bit, "come in, I'll change quickly so we can leave. Verzeihen Sie mir?"   
  
Zach shook his head, "I have no idea what you asked but you look so guilty over such a little thing as falling asleep that I'm going to take my chances and say yes."   
  
Eva beamed at him, "ein Moment mal," she said as she slipped out of the room to change. She reappeared a few minutes later demurely dressed in a light shade of blue, more than happy to take the arm that Zach offered her, "so, where are we going?"   
  
"Out..."  
  
Eva batted at his arm with her free hand, "that's not what I meant."   
  
"There's a nice restaurant in Hogsmeade I thought I'd take you to," he frowned, "Alberto had a message too... said I should take you birding..."  
  
Eva immediately turned brick red.   
  
"What?"   
  
Eva shook her head, "Alberto would say that..." she brought a hand up to her burning cheek, "have Alberto explain it to you... I'm not sure I want to."   
  
"That bad?"   
  
Eva nodded, "perhaps we should talk about something else..."  
  
The rest of the night went smoothly, with Zach finding himself more and more attracted to the blond woman at his side as the night wore on. By the time he escorted her back to her chambers he was more than a bit reluctant to release the hand he had so boldly managed to hold for the walk back. "We'll have to do this again..." he paused, not quite wanting to end this yet.   
  
"Ja, it was fun..."  
  
"Well, goodnight," he took a step back.   
  
"Guten Nacht," on impulse Eva took a step forward and pressed her lips to his for a split second before dashing for the sanctuary of her rooms.   
  
Zach was left standing, a bit shocked, but pleased, in the hallway for several very long minutes afterward. He finally got moving again, intent on finding Alberto who had some explaining to do.

* * *

"Isn't it a bit late to be studying?"   
  
William looked up as he stepfather joined him in the now empty library, and pushed the stack of books aside, "wasn't studying, just thinking."   
  
"Then don't you think it's past time you were back in your Common Room for the night?"   
  
"Sirius," William decided to take a huge chance, "what do you know about the Grigorian Brotherhood?"   
  
Sirius' smile faded, "not very much, why?"   
  
"Well... no reason, I was just curious."   
  
"Curious my ass, there aren't many people who know about the Brotherhood so start talking."   
  
"Come on Sirius, I just read about it in a book and was trying to fill in the gaps, there was no real reason why..."  
  
Sirius had enough of talk and reached over to shove William's sleeve up his arm, and surveyed the Brotherhood tattoo in silence for several long seconds that felt like hours to William, "like I said, start talking. And you better have a damn good excuse for joining a secret society you know next to nothing about, especially when we tell your mother about this."   
  
William reclaimed his arm from Sirius' grasp, "what do you care about all this?"   
  
Sirius sighed, "I'm trying to understand is all. I want to be a part of your life William, you may not have chosen for me to marry your mother but I did. I've been trying to get to know you and be your friend, but you've made no effort whatsoever."   
  
William felt vaguely guilty; truth was he hadn't been trying; not at all... he took a deep breath and told Sirius everything, even about Kamen's last solitary visit to Armand. By the time he finished he was having trouble meeting his stepfather's eye, "so... you angry?"   
  
"Not really, just wish I had more answers for you kid. I don't know enough about this Brotherhood to judge whether or not I should be angry. However, there is someone here at the school I want you to talk to it about, he can give you some real answers."   
  
"Who?" William looked up, clearly confused. He didn't remember seeing anyone he recognized from Hogwarts besides himself and Kamen at the Grigorian meetings.   
  
"Dumbledore. I'll arrange so that you and Kamen can have a conversation with his portrait up in Minerva's office. I remember him commenting on the Grigorian Brotherhood once or twice, gave me the impression he knew something about them. I think he'll be able to answer your questions."

* * *

"You have done well Malfoy, very well indeed. I am pleased."   
  
"That you my lord," Malfoy lowered his head in reverence, and partly because it was just a bit uncanny to look for an extended amount of time at that pale skin and those red snake-like eyes. "My one goal these many years has been to find a way to restore you, with that completed I am once again at your service."

"So very faithful, just like your father, let us hope you do not die as easily as he did. The traitor will of course pay for that, the loss of your father was a bad blow to our cause."

"I would like nothing better than to see Snape suffer."

"And you will get your chance. I guarantee it."

"Thank you my lord, that is more than I deserve."

Voldemort did not smile, but thoughts of malicious intent were already running through his newly restored mind.

* * *

Olivia, clutching Tristan, hovered at the threshold for a moment before making up her mind. Deciding that they probably wouldn't mind too much she took a running leap up onto the high bed and crawled up to lay down between her parents. It took her a minute to worm her way under the covers, but once she was there she snuggled up next to Morgan, bouncing a bit in the process.   
  
"Is that absolutely necessary child?" Severus asked from behind closed eyes.   
  
"Sorry," Olivia mumbled, a pout starting to form. "I didn't mean to wake you up."   
  
Severus glanced over at the clock, "it is three in the morning child, what do you want?"   
  
Olivia played with Tristan's ears, "I just wanted to know if we were going to do anything special today."   
  
Severus closed his eyes again, "well, if you let me get back to sleep I have every intention of getting up in several hours and spending most of the day grading papers." He glanced over and in the light spilling in from the hallway watched Olivia's hopeful face fall, "unless it is someone's birthday, then I suppose something special is in order..."  
  
Olivia's smile returned.  
  
"However, unless you go back to sleep right now..." Severus didn't have to finish the threat; Olivia instantly closed her eyes, trying very hard to fall asleep.   
  
When Morgan woke up several hours later it was to find a mass of black curls and a small head pillowed on her chest. She smiled when she realized that Olivia was lying horizontal on the bed with her feet pushing against Severus, who was about out of the bed.   
  
"She's just as bad as you are about kicking me out of bed," Severus informed his wife.


	70. Chapter 70

"Hey hon, you want to go running?"   
  
Dierna squinted against the morning light into the way too cheerful for this early in the morning face of her twin, "I suppose..."  
  
"Good, get ready, 'cause I'm leaving in 5 minutes whether you're ready or not."   
  
"Alright, alright, I'm up," Dierna hauled herself out of bed. She changed quickly and sat back down on the bed to pull on her running shoes, "I don't understand how you can be happy this early in the morning..."  
  
"It's just my natural sunshiny personality," Serena replied cheekily.  
  
"Well, I'm ready to go."   
  
Serena gave her sister a worried look, normally she would have gotten a sarcastic remark worthy of their father over the 'natural sunshiny' description. It was like something in her sister had died along with Stefan... "well then, lets get going," Serena's voice was slightly strained.   
  
They started out on their normal route, down behind the school to the lake then up to the Quidditch pitch where they ran several laps, then along the edge of the Forbidden Forest back to the front of the school. However, Dierna barely made it one through one lap of the Quidditch pitch when she stopped. "Go ahead," she told her sister, "I think I'm just still a little tired, I'll just walk up on my own and probably go to bed for a couple more hours."   
  
Serena tried to protest, but Dierna was unmovable. Finally, shrugging, she continued on with her run.   
  
Dierna made it most of the way back to Gryffindor Tower before the second wave of dizziness hit her. She put her hand against the wall for support, but still fell to her knees. She barely noticed the sharp pain in her knee caps from hitting the hard stone floor her head was spinning so fast. She knelt there for awhile until she finally found the strength to stand back up and continue on. She never knew that someone had been watching her the whole time.

* * *

Olivia wanted to run around and look at all the shop windows, but she held by the hand on either side, and had been told that if she ran off just once the trip was over and she could spend the rest of the day in her room, even if it was her birthday.  
  
"Where do you want to go first?" Morgan asked.   
  
Olivia looked around Diagon Alley, trying to decide, "I don't know."  
  
"Might I suggest Madame Malkin's?" Severus inserted, "child, your robes are getting deplorably short."   
  
"Can I get red robes?" Olivia asked.   
  
Severus frowned and muttered something about children and Gryffindor tendencies that wasn't quite loud enough for his daughter to hear, "no."   
  
"Please..."&  
  
"Do you not understand the meaning of 'no' child?"   
  
"No," Olivia giggled at the exasperated look she got.   
  
"Stop it you two," Morgan rolled her eyes at them, "we will worry about color once we find something that fits her," she gave her husband a pointed look as he held the door to the robe shop open for them, "it is her birthday Sev..."

After being given permission Olivia scampered over to the racks of children's robes and started looking through them. She quickly located a red robe and held it up for inspection.   
  
"No," Severus said, holding up a black robe.   
  
Olivia shook her head, "I don't want black, I want red."   
  
"Black is more appropriate, it is what the students wear."   
  
"But I'm not a student, and I want red."   
  
Severus crossed his arms over his chest, "child, you are not getting red robes, I live with more than enough Gryffindors as it is, I don't need you heading down that path too."   
  
"How about a compromise," Morgan said holding a set of blue robes up in between them.   
  
"I like blue," Olivia said.   
  
"Severus?" Morgan raised an eyebrow, silently daring him to say anything negative.   
  
"It's better than red."  
  
"I might go crazy if you two act like this the rest of the day," Morgan said with a shake of her head, "it's like I have two children to keep an eye on."   
  
"Daddy, can we get ice cream next?" Olivia asked, tugging on Severus' sleeve.   
  
"Before lunch?"   
  
Olivia rolled her eyes, "no silly, for lunch."   
  
"I think not."   
  
Olivia pouted, "Please Daddy..."  
  
"Child, the sooner you learn that act won't work, the better off you will be," Severus snapped a bit more harshly than he had intended.   
  
Olivia sighed, "'k, I'm sorry." She concentrated on being as good as she could manage while Morgan paid for the two sets of robes she had picked out, one blue and one green.   
  
"Severus, how delightful to see you out and about, although I never pinned you as the sort of chap to enjoy shopping, it's one of those arts best left to those of us with good taste."   
  
Severus wondered if the day could get any worse, "Lockhart... a pleasure," he sneered.   
  
"No need for formalities, you did return my mind after all, not that I wouldn't have figured it out on my own, I was almost there! Please, make it Gilderoy, between friends such as us we should be on a first name basis, what?"   
  
Morgan's eyes widened dramatically as she joined her husband and daughter, "Lockhart..." she practically hissed the name.   
  
"Ahhh... Morgan, one of my favorite students, how very nice to see you," Lockhart grabbed her hand and tried to bring it to his lips, but Morgan wrenched it out of his grasp.   
  
"Sorry, but we were just leaving," Morgan said coldly.   
  
As soon as the trio was outside the store Morgan announced that they were going home for the day. How she hated Lockhart! She would like nothing better than too... By the time they got home she had calmed enough to speak calmly to Olivia when she told the girl to go put her new clothes away.   
  
"Guess I'm just bad luck Tristan," Olivia told her stuffed rabbit, "nothing ever seems to go right when I'm around." She hugged him close, "but you shouldn't be sad Tristan, I'll give you something so that you won't be sad since you have to stay with me." She got up and pulled a ribbon off of her new blue robes and tied it around the rabbit's neck, "there, now you'll all pretty."   
  
Her lower lip started to tremble, "I miss Mama and Papa... this is the first birthday they haven't been here Tristan." The tears really started to flow.   
  
"Hey kid, what's the sad face for?"   
  
"Nothing..."  
  
"Doesn't look like nothing to me," Kamen said as he joined Olivia on her bed, "I have enough sisters to know that _usually_ you girls don't cry over nothing."   
  
Olivia ran the back of her hand over her eyes, "just not a very good day."   
  
"Not a good day when it's your birthday! That doesn't seem very fair," Kamen said sympathetically, he had heard his mother ranting about Lockhart and knew what she was like when she got into that state, "can I try and make it better?"   
  
"Sure."   
  
"How about we start with a birthday present," Kamen made a dramatic presentation of a small wrapped gift.   
  
"What is it?"   
  
"Open it and see."   
  
Olivia tore open the paper, "Oh, I love it..." she held up the necklace with the rabbit charm on it. "Help me put it on?"

* * *

"Of course," Kamen worked the small clasp with a practiced hand as he fastened the necklace around her neck, "it reminded me of your rabbit there, if figured since you like him so much you'd like another rabbit."   
  
"You know, you're a lot nice than I thought you were."  
  
Kamen leaned down close to his youngest little sister, "just don't tell the other girls that, I have every intention of treating them just as bad as I always have and I don't want to make them jealous. Now," he sat up, "how about we raid the kitchens for some ice cream?"

* * *

"My lord, if you don't need anything else I should return to the school before my presence is missed."  
  
"Of course, you are dismissed girl. Malfoy!" Voldemort called the man, "see that she is escorted safely off the property."   
  
"Of course my lord."   
  
Malfoy took the girl by the arm gently, there was no need to upset his lord, "remember your duties," he hissed in her ear as he led her to the edge of the property, "as indispensable as our dark lord may think you are, it doesn't mean he won't hesitate to dispose of you should you lose your usefulness. Do you understand?"   
  
"Ja, ich verstehe, I understand."   
  
"Good," Draco glared at her, it infuriated him to no end that he wasn't allowed to touch this girl, "you'll be summoned again soon, Eva." He spoke her name softly, almost as a caress. And his eyes lingered on the spot where she had stood for a long time after she had disapparated.

* * *

Kamen carried a half-asleep Olivia back to his parents' chambers. She was so limp that he was having troubles keeping a good hold on her.   
  
"What did you do to her?" Severus asked as his son deposited her droopy form on the sofa.   
  
"Three bowls of ice cream and a trip to see the unicorn Professor Weasley has for his classes."   
  
"Thank you for taking her, we ran into Lockhart this morning and your mother..."  
  
"Yeah, I know, that's why I took her. Thought she deserved a better birthday than that, especially after what I heard her telling that stuffed rabbit of hers..."  
  
Severus frowned, "what are you talking about?"   
  
Kamen matched his father's glare, "her parents died just over 4 months ago, think about it. I've got to get going, William and I have something to do."   
  
Severus was left sitting there, still trying to reconcile the immature, full-of-himself, image that he had of his son, with the steely look of determination that was now in his eyes. Could the boy have finally grown up?

* * *

Kamen and William met at the entrance to Professor McGonagall's office and went up together. Sirius had arranged for them to have some time alone up there so that they could question Dumbledore's portrait about the Grigorian Brotherhood. They had both agreed that they needed to hear some answers before things went any further, there would be no more blind leaps.   
  
The portrait of Dumbledore was waiting for them, but there was something odd about the room... none of the other portraits of former headmasters and headmistresses were present.   
  
"I had to insure that we could have this conversation in private," Dumbledore answered their unasked question as to the presence of the other paintings. "Technically I probably shouldn't even be entertaining this session with you boys, but I believe you deserve to know the truth about the Brotherhood."   
  
"What do you know about it?" William asked.   
  
Dumbledore steepled his fingers under his chin, "a great deal actually. Until the time of my death I was at the head of the Brotherhood."

* * *

"So, how much longer are you going to put this off?"   
  
"It's not that simple Remus..." Kalliope began.   
  
"I know, I know..." Remus cut her off, "your temple won't recognize the marriage. To them I will be your consort, nothing more. But I still want to be married to you, and you did say yes to my proposal if I remember correctly."   
  
Kalliope studied him for a minute, "and I guess I did say that I would stay here with you, and the marriage would be important in your world..."  
  
"I'm not trying to pressure you into anything right now, if you need to think about it Kalliope I understand. I know this is very different from the world you grew up in."   
  
Kalliope shook her head, "no, I've made my decision Remus. Let's do it now."   
  
"What? You mean get married, right now?"   
  
"Yes."   
  
Remus stared, rather blankly, at the priestess for awhile. He truly did love this woman more than anything, but he hadn't been planning on an impromptu wedding...  
  
"Has that Gryffindor bravery kicked in yet, or are you going to leave me sitting here all night waiting for a response?"

* * *

"You were the head of the Grigorian Brotherhood?!" Kamen practically shouted, "This is ridiculous, why weren't we told this? It probably would have saved us a lot of agonizing over whether or not we were doing the right thing."   
  
"It is a secret society, so I don't suppose there would have been any reason for you boys to know about my role of leadership. Now, as to whether or not you're doing the right thing," Dumbledore popped a lemon drop into his mouth, "I believe the Brotherhood's cause is just."   
  
"But..." William prompted.   
  
"But, Armand is still trying to get his footing. He has only been the head of the Brotherhood for about a year. He is incredibly young to hold that position, and he is learning as he goes. His methods are a bit on the rough side, but he's getting there," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, "I remember a few rough spots of my own that I had to get over. But never you fear, the other former leaders, along with myself, are there to give him advice."   
  
William considered that, "so you have another portrait in the Brotherhood headquarters..."  
  
"Who are some of the other former leaders?" Kamen cut in.   
  
Dumbledore made a show of looking around the room instead of directly at the two boys, "ohhh... lots of famous wizards. Let me see... Merlin was one, Flavius Belby, Glover Hipworth, Nicolas Flamel, I believe there was a Snape at one time who was the head, let's see who else might you have heard of... oh yes, Salazar Slytherin."   
  
"Slytherin was head of the Brotherhood?" William frowned, Kamen had mentioned that Armand had told him Slytherin was a member, but had neglected to add the fact that he was a leader "but after all you've said, about just causes, and you were leader of the same society... but Slytherin, he was..."  
  
"Evil? Mr. Darcy, yes, I suppose to your way of thinking he would be. But remember things are not always as they appear. Salazar Slytherin was a great man, and a great asset to the Brotherhood, and the wizarding community."  
  
"How do you know that? I had to write a report on the founding of Hogwarts and there was almost no information on any of the founders, not even in the restricted section."   
  
Kamen looked up at Dumbledore as the answer dawned on him, "there's a portrait. The Brotherhood has portraits of the former leaders, that means there's a portrait of Slytherin."   
  
"Yes there is, full of fascinating stories that one is," Dumbledore said with a smile.

* * *

"I think its bedtime."  
  
"But it's still my birthday! Can't I stay up for the rest of it?" Olivia looked at Morgan with pleading eyes.   
  
"How about we compromise and have two stories tonight instead of one?"   
  
Olivia looked down at the new story books she had gotten for her birthday, "but I'm seven! That's a lot older than I was yesterday. I want to stay up."   
  
"That is a lot older," Morgan agreed.

"A whole year!" Olivia inserted.   
  
"But I think bedtime still stands. Why don't you go get ready and then we'll read a few stories together."   
  
Olivia, although she pouted the whole time, did as she was told. She returned to the living room, clutching Tristan, and crawled up on the couch between Morgan and Severus.  
  
"How about that story now?" Morgan asked.   
  
Olivia shook her head, "no story, I don't want one."   
  
Morgan brushed black curls out of the way of large blue eyes, "sweetie, I know you miss your parents, and I don't ever want you to forget them. But you have us now, and I love you just as much as if you had always been mine. I'm so thankful I have you here as my little girl."   
  
Olivia looked down at Tristan, "does it make them sad that I love you and I'm glad I'm here?"   
  
"Oh sweetie, no it doesn't. I have a feeling they are happy that you're starting to really happy again and have a new family. They don't want you to be sad all the time."   
  
Olivia nodded, "I miss them, but I want to be happy too," she cuddled Tristan, "I think I do want a story now."

* * *

"I think you guys are corrupting me," Nimue muttered.   
  
"You like it," Ophelia told her with a grin.   
  
"Yeah, life wouldn't be half as interesting if you didn't have us," Angie added.   
  
"Well, if we get caught out here I'll make sure you don't forget I was the one who said this was a bad idea."   
  
"We know!" Ophelia and Angie said together, which sent them into a fit of giggles.   
  
The trio continued on a bit more quietly, they crept past the great hall and down towards the kitchen. "You know I'm right about this one," Angie said in a hushed voice, "a late night study session is not complete without midnight snacks."   
  
"Wait," Nimue suddenly stopped and pulled the other girls with her into a dark alcove, signaling to them to be silent. They watched, unnoticed, as Eva walked by them. "Probably patrolling the halls," Nimue whispered once the coast was clear, "we need to be more careful."

* * *

"Why three?"   
  
Remus smiled, "I don't remember."   
  
"Then why should I do it?"   
  
"Mrs. Lupin, just do as you're told and throw them in."   
  
Kalliope narrowed her eyes, "you keep speaking to me that way wizard and it's you I'll throw in," but she smiled at him as she tossed the three coins over her shoulder, "happy?"   
  
"Yes," Remus pulled her into his arms, "and you better not throw me in, I can smell all the bleach in there, it wouldn't be pleasant."   
  
"But it is very beautiful," Kalliope rested her head on Remus' shoulder as she gazed at the Trevi fountain. She grinned up at him devilishly, "I should have known you'd take me to Rome to get married..."  
  
"I'm just glad that I had the right connections and that Minerva told me I don't have to be back until Monday morning. So, love of my life, what do we do now?"   
  
Kalliope glanced around; the Roman night life was in full swing. Tourists were running around snapping pictures while illegal vendors pressed them with silk scarves and roses until chased off by the police. The city was lit up, new buildings mixed with ancient. It was a beautiful city, ready to be explored, "let's find a place to stay for the night, I just want to be with you."

* * *

Severus was very watchful the next week. Dierna was looking worse and worse. And Morgan was worried, so he not only had to worry about his daughter, but he also had to worry about his wife worrying about their daughter.  
  
As another week came to an end he debated if something should be done. He would have told her she couldn't play in the quidditch match, which was about to start, if he hadn't thought it would only push her closer to the edge. She had lost weight, it looked like it wouldn't take much more than a steady breeze to knock her off her broom, a bludger would probably snap her in half.   
  
He was so lost in his thoughts that he paid little attention to whom he spoke or passed as he made his way towards the quidditch pitch for the game. With his usual school year mask in place it was easy to operate without giving it too much thought.  
  
"I think you made that girl cry." Olivia informed him, breaking into his thoughts.   
  
"What girl?" he asked, frowning.   
  
"The one that nearly ran into you, you were mean and I think it made her cry."   
  
"Is there a point to you informing me of this?"  
  
Olivia shook her head, "no, it just didn't seem very nice."  
  
He was thankful when Olivia dropped the subject; he had a headache coming on and was not in the mood to contribute to the child's need for conversation. As they reached the teachers' stands he barely glanced around to see who was in attendance. He felt just the slightest bit guilty as he noticed Morgan's red and gold ensemble. It was the last game of the season, Gryffindor versus Slytherin; due to his status as Head of Slytherin it would not be outwardly acceptable for him to support Gryffindor, even if his children were on that team.   
  
"Kamen's last game here..." Morgan sighed, "Just over a month and he'll be graduating, another one out of the house." She cast about for something a bit happier to think about, "you two," her gaze fell on Remus and Kalliope, "I haven't seen much of you around this week. Enjoying being newlyweds?"  
  
Remus shook his head, "don't you even start with me Morgan, I know where you're going with this..."  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about," Morgan said sweetly.   
  
Remus pulled his best teaching face, "don't make me ask your husband to keep you in line."   
  
Morgan glanced over at her husband and managed a weak smile, "I'm not sure he'd even notice right now..."  
  
Remus turned serious, "come to any decisions about what you're going to do with Dierna yet?"   
  
"No, and I'm getting more and more worried. Severus is worried she might try to do something to herself, but we're both at a loss as to what to do. I personally think she would be much better off if she had a good cry, she's holding so much pain inside..."  
  
Remus nodded, but didn't have a chance to respond as the game started.   
  
Morgan watched, her gaze following her three children intently. She had loved quidditch until she had children on a team. It was then that she seemed to realize exactly how dangerous the game could be. She watched all of their games practically paralyzed with fear that something would happen, but maintained a cheery façade as she cheered for them.   
  
She tried to keep one eye on Dierna and the other on the rest of the action of the game. She was nearly beside herself with joy and pride when Nick's little sister caught the snitch and Gryffindor won not only the game, but the quidditch cup. She gave Remus a sympathetic glance, knowing that he would probably spend most of the night breaking up Gryffindor celebration parties. But a collective gasp from the crowd made her spin back around in time to see Dierna land her broom just before she crumpled to the ground.


	71. Chapter 71

"She thinks she can just leave us," Rheia gazed up at the statue. "But its not that easy, we can't just let her go. Kalliope is needed here."   
  
Her attendants remained by the walls, silent.   
  
"She must come back, that is all there is to it. We are running out of time... we must regain power if we are to survive, and she has the strength we need. Sophia..." Rheia examined her thoughts closely, "the girl I am not so concerned about, she is not the one we need. It is Kalliope that is needed. She will return."

* * *

"I don't know what you think you were doing child! Honestly, never seen the like before..." Madame Pomphrey pressed her lips together into a thin disapproving line. "And Severus, I don't know what you were thinking; you obviously haven't been watching her as closely as you should have."   
  
Severus wasn't given a chance to reply before Poppy continued her tirade.   
  
"I have seen you in here too many times this year young lady, I'm beginning to think I should get you your own personal bed, perhaps add a Snape family ward in the hospital wing?"   
  
"I'm sorry," Dierna mumbled, looking down at her lap.   
  
Poppy snorted, "Sorry indeed, had this gone much further we would have been dealing with a serious eating disorder. When was the last time you had a decent meal?"   
  
Dierna shrugged.   
  
"Hmpf! Probably been the same amount of time since you had a good nights sleep. Am I right?"   
  
Dierna slowly nodded.   
  
"Drink this," Madame Pomphrey thrust a vial at Dierna, who recognized the sleeping potion and hurried to down it. She wasn't sure how much lecturing she could take, and from the look her father was giving her she didn't doubt he was only waiting his turn.   
  
"She's out cold," Morgan said as she ran the back of her hand across her daughter's cheek.   
  
"Yes, and I need you out of here now," Poppy turned to Severus with an impatient glare.   
  
Severus matched it with his darkest scowl, "this is my daughter, what gives you the right to..."  
  
"And I need to examine her, and the poor girl would not be thrilled to know that you hung around while I had her shirt off. Now out with you!" Poppy pushed him away from the bed and pulled the curtains tightly around him.   
  
"Bloody woman," Severus muttered. He paced back and forth across the hospital wing waiting to see what Poppy had to say. "Well?" he turned to face his wife expectantly as she came out from behind the curtains.   
  
Morgan shook her head, "we have got to do something with that child. I can't believe how thin she's gotten, there was hardly anything there to begin with... she's suffering Sev, and I don't know what to do for her." She tried to blink away tears.   
  
"Shhh... we'll figure out something."   
  
"Sev, please do something," Morgan wrapped her arms around his waist, "she's so much closer to you than she is to me. Maybe she'll listen to you."   
  
"I doubt it. She's also just as stubborn as I am which means she has a tendency not to listen to me."   
  
Morgan tilted her head up, "I trust you Sev, do what you have to."

* * *

"It's not that simple Remus! Yes I am on your side completely, but that doesn't mean I can betray him completely either."   
  
"You know everything that goes on Eric, why can't you tell us what he's doing?"   
  
"Dammit, he's still my nephew after all!"   
  
"Who is your nephew?"   
  
"Zach, didn't see you standing there boy," Eric attempted as much of a smile as his distorted face would allow.   
  
"I was under the impression that I was your only family," Zach glared at his grandfather, "and now I find that I've been lied to. Who is your nephew? I have every right to know who my family is."   
  
"Zach, it's not that simple..." Eric began.   
  
"Tell me."   
  
Remus quietly slipped out of the room as grandson and grandfather glared at each other.   
  
"You don't want to know."   
  
"Tell me."  
  
"My sister married a muggle by the name of Riddle. Voldemort is my nephew Zach, I'm sorry you had to find out. I wanted to spare you the pain of that knowledge. Merlin knows you put up with enough from me, you didn't need that on top of it all."

* * *

"So, are you going to do it?"   
  
"You think it will really work?"   
  
"Of course!" Olivia insisted. She had been left in Kamen's care while their parent's stayed with Dierna, "it's the coolest idea ever! If boys weren't so icky I'd want one to do it for me."   
  
"I am not 'icky' thank you very much, its you girls that have cooties."   
  
"Do not!" Olivia told him indignantly.   
  
"Well, as long as you think it will work... but you have to come with me for moral support. I'm not used to doing this thing in front of the entire student body."   
  
"You'll be awesome!"   
  
"Well at least the kid will think I'm amazing no matter how bad this goes," Kamen mumbled as he picked up the guitar he had borrowed from Eva. He strode down the hallway towards the Great Hall with Olivia trotting along beside him. He left her sitting with Nimue and her friends at the Gryffindor table as he continued on towards the Ravenclaw table.   
  
He came up behind Celeste, who didn't see him and knelt down on one knee. He settled the guitar on his knee and softly strummed the strings as he sang in a rich baritone that very few knew he possessed  
  
_I can't fight this feeling any longer,   
And yet I'm still afraid to let it flow,  
What started out as friendship has grown stronger,   
I only wish I had the strength to let it show,  
I tell myself that I can't hold out forever,  
I say there is no reason for my fear,   
'Cause I feel so secure when we're together,   
You give my life direction, You make everything so clear,   
And even as I wander I'm keeping you in sight,   
You're a candle in the window on a cold dark winter's night,   
And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might,   
And I can't fight this feeling any more,   
I've forgotten what I started fighting for,   
It's time to bring this ship into the shore,   
And throw away the oars forever,   
'Cause I can't fight this feeling any more,   
I've forgotten what I started fighting for,   
And if I have to crawl upon the floor,   
Come crashing through your door,   
Baby I can't fight this feeling anymore..._  
  
Celeste had turned around, her eyes enormous, as Kamen started to sing. She had been seeing him on and off for most of the term. But had gotten fed up about a month ago and told him they were finished, for good. Now she was barely aware of the fact that a silence gradually fell over the Great Hall and curious students turned to watch what was happening.   
  
"I'm sorry I've been such a jerk. I know I haven't always treated you right, but I'm going to change that." There was a look of steely determination in his eyes, "yes, when it started out I was looking to use you. But that was before I realized how amazing you are. Be my girl again Celeste, for real this time. Please?"   
  
Celeste slowly shook her head, "I don't know how I could refuse that..."  
  
"Then don't say no, go out with him!" some random Hufflepuff shouted, breaking the quiet.   
  
Celeste giggled, "You're too much Kamen, I never know what to expect from you. Fine, I'll be your girlfriend again."  
  
Kamen smiled as he took her hand, "Good, 'cause I would hate to think that I made a complete fool out of myself in front of the whole school for nothing."   
  
"So... there's a school ball coming up..."  
  
Kamen grinned wider, "I know, but I can't take you. When you dumped me I asked someone else to go, just as a friend. And it would be incredibly rude of me to back out now. Do you understand?"   
  
Celeste frowned, "but..."  
  
"I promise you, nothing more than a friend. And plan on me stealing you away for at least half the dances."   
  
"Fine, but if there is anymore funny business from you..."  
  
"Don't worry, there won't be."   
  


* * *

"Zach, are you alright?" Eva tentatively as she came up behind him, "you weren't at dinner... was machst du so traurig?"   
  
"It's nothing..."  
  
"Please Zach, you can talk to me. I thought we had something..."  
  
"I don't know how you could still be able to see me the same way if I told you, my family... I can't stand who they are."   
  
"Do you think so little of yourself Zach that you can't even accept yourself? Do you think so little of me that you believe I would judge you by circumstances you can't control? I love you Zach, I would never try to hurt you, and I don't like to see you hurt yourself this way."   
  
"I've always thought that my grandfather was the worst it could get. I realized tonight that I was wrong, it gets much worse... I'm related to Voldemort."   
  
"Oh Zach... how could you think that would change the way I think about you?"  
  
Zach turned and punched the wall, "because I'm related to the most evil wizard to ever live," his voice broke as he sank down to kneel on the floor.   
  
Eva crouched down next to him, her arms going around his neck, "he may be your family, but he does not dictate who you are. My family is not so wonderful either, perhaps just as evil as yours, ja?"   
  
"You don't have an evil bone in your body, how could you..."  
  
"My family fought for Grindelwald and for Voldemort the first time around. Not something I publicly advertise... I think perhaps I have just as many..." she frowned, "what is your saying? Bones in the cabinet?"   
  
Zach managed a small smile, "skeletons in the closet?"   
  
"Ja, that one."   
  
"Guess we have something else in common, fighting for the side of good when our families have been on the side of evil."   
  


* * *

Severus sat by his daughter's bed in the hospital wing waiting for the potion Poppy had given her to wear off. Morgan trusted him to deal with their daughter when she was in this delicate condition, knowing full well how bad he was at handling female emotions. He decided to handle this the best way he knew how.   
  
The only problem was he had no idea if it was the best way for his daughter. Emotions were not his forte. Morgan knew that and yet she had thrust this on him. From what he could discern Dierna had built up a number of walls around herself that needed to be brought down before she could cope with all her emotions. If his methods ended up causing more damage he had every intention of blaming it on his wife.   
  
He loved his wife dearly, but she refused to do anything that might hurt their children. Even though it might be in their best interest.   
  
"It's about time you work up," he said, a bit on the sharp side, as Dierna finally opened her eyes. "Do you feel any better?"   
  
Dierna sat up, leaning against the pillows, "yeah... I guess so."   
  
"Good, because we have some things to talk about."   
  
Dierna eyed her father warily. She wasn't put off by his harsh tone. She was used to it. Even when he was acting his most concerned and loving he could come off cold. But this was different; this was the harsh exterior he used with his students, "what are we talking about?"   
  
"Several things that you are going to change. First, you need to stop being so selfish..."  
  
"What are you talking about?!" Dierna sounded hurt, "I am not..."  
  
"Do not interrupt me again," Severus snarled, "yes you have been incredibly selfish. You have been wallowing in your own grief, giving no thought to others. I know very well that Stefan's mother has asked you several times to come see her, she cares about you a great deal. But you have refused. You have been damn near starving yourself and going without sleep because you are too much of a coward to deal with your own feelings. Where is that Gryffindor bravery now?"   
  
"Stop... please..." Dierna was starting to look thoroughly miserable.   
  
"Why? Because you are finally starting to realize how disgracefully you have been acting? Well I am not done yet," he place his hands on the bed, one on either side of his daughter, so he could lean over her, "you have caused your friends a great deal of worry over the way you have been acting, not to mention your mother and me. It stops now Adelaide. You are going to stop thinking only about yourself and start paying attention to the people around you. And you..."  
  
"I've only..."  
  
"I told you not to interrupt me," Severus hissed. He sat back eyeing his daughter carefully, she was very close to breaking. "As I was saying..."  
  
"I'm not listening to you!"   
  
Severus raised his hand, and for the second time in her life, Dierna felt it connect with her cheek.   
  
"I hate you..." Dierna whispered hoarsely as tears filled her eyes. She balled up her fists and tried to fight her father off as he moved to hold her in his arms. But he easily deflected her feeble attempts and gathered her close to him. When she realized how useless her attempts to get away were she collapsed against him, sobbing.   
  
"Hate me all you want child, but you have to stop hating yourself," Severus' voice had lost its hard edge. "You cannot go on like this, and I am not going to sit by and wait until you do something to hurt yourself."   
  
Dierna's breathing had grown irregular, and she was gasping for air as sobs continued to all but choke her.   
  
"Take deep breaths child, you do not need to make yourself sick," Severus directed firmly. She continued to cry against his shoulder for a long time. He held onto his daughter until she had regained control of herself and released her so that she could lay back against the pillows again when she calmed down a bit. "Now, tell me why you have been acting so destructively these past weeks. I will sit here all night if I have to, but you are going to give me some answers young lady." 

* * *

"So..."  
  
"Yes?"   
  
"You thinking about leaving me yet?"   
  
Kalliope laughed, "not a chance, you're stuck with me now wizard."   
  
"You know, we're married now, it would be entirely appropriate for you to call me by my name and not 'wizard'" Remus teased.   
  
"But I like calling you wizard..." Kalliope shot back, as she sat up from where she had been laying on their bed to kiss her husband.   
  
"'You ask how many kisses of yours,  
Kalliope, are enough and more for me.  
As many as the number of Libyan sands...  
Or as many as the stars that, when night is still,  
Gaze at the secret loves of men.'" Remus recited, a rather silly grin in place on his face.   
  
"Are you spouting Roman poetry to me for a reason wizard?"   
  
"I figured it was appropriate..." Remus drawled lazily as he ran his hand through Kalliope's dark hair.  
  
"You turning into a hopeless romantic on me now?"   
  
"Actually no, now that you've finally married me I suppose I can stop trying." Remus didn't have a chance to duck before he was walloped with a pillow. 

* * *

"Well?" Severus handed Dierna his handkerchief and waited while she wiped her eyes and blew her nose.   
  
"I miss Stefan. And I hate him for leaving me. And I miss him... and I hate him..." her voice broke, "and I hate myself for hating him..."  
  
"You have to stop doing this to yourself child. I know you loved him," and Severus would never let his daughter know how much it took for him to admit that, she was his little girl and shouldn't know love like that yet, "but you can't let this," he hooked his finger around the chain at her neck, which held the ring from Stefan, "run your life."   
  
"I'll try."   
  
Severus frowned, that wasn't quite what he wanted to hear, but he supposed it would have to do for now. He was still searching for the right thing to say when he noticed movement at the door. "You," he looked over to where Olivia was hovering at the entrance to the hospital wing, "come here, I have a job for you."   
  
"You should have seen what Kamen did at dinner!" Olivia said as she bounded over.   
  
"Hmmm... well I am sure I will hear about it later," Severus said, not sure that he really wanted to hear about it. He lifted Olivia up on the bed and set her next to Dierna. "You are going to sit here while I go eat something and make sure something is sent up for your sister," he looked at Olivia seriously. "Now you take this," he reached into his robes and pulled out his pocket watch, "if she tries to leave the hospital wing or does not eat her dinner you turn this knob here, and I will come right back here to deal with her. I am leaving you in charge."   
  
"'k..." Olivia turned the watch over in her hands.   
  
"Be careful with that," Severus admonished, "your mother gave it to me and I am rather attached to it."   
  
Olivia cradled the watch in her hands, feeling very proud to be left with something so special, and to be left in charge.   
  


* * *

"Been busy?"   
  
"Ja, but its good to be busy."   
  
Zach smiled, "it is good to be busy," being busy kept one's mind off of one's family, which was very good when your family was as bad as his.   
  
"Did you need something Zach?" Eva looked at him quizzically, "not that I'm not pleased to see you, but... well..."  
  
"I'm sorry; I know you need to get back to work. So do I. But I did have something to ask you," Zach picked up a vile from Eva's work table, looking at it with interest. "The thing is, I've somehow been talked into being a chaperone for the ball this weekend, and I don't want to go alone."   
  
"Are you asking me to the dance?" Eva grinned as she retrieved the vile from Zach's hand.   
  
"Yes."   
  
"And with about as much tact as a 15 year old nonetheless," her smile was positively devilish.   
  
"Well, if you don't want to go..."  
  
"Don't be silly, of course I want to go with you," Eva suddenly turned shy again, and tried to hide behind her curtain of blond hair, "I would love to."   
  


* * *

"Did she behave herself?" Severus asked Olivia when he returned from dinner. He had heard all about Kamen's performance and only due to Morgan's intervention had not disowned the boy.   
  
"Yes," Olivia said, nodding solemnly.   
  
"Watch please."   
  
Olivia, with one last longing look, handed over the pocket watch, she had enjoyed being in charge of it.   
  
"Why don't you head down and start getting ready for bed," Severus said to Olivia.   
  
"Do I have to?"   
  
"Yes."   
  
Olivia managed a scowl worthy of a Snape and stomped out of the hospital wing.   
  
"What is this?" Severus asked, as silent tears started to stream down Dierna's face, "still feeling sorry for yourself?"   
  
"No, just realizing how wrapped up in myself I've been... and feeling bad about it. Did you mean it when you said I was selfish?"   
  
"When have I ever told you something that I did not mean?" Severus noticed the haunted look in his daughter's eyes and decided to change the subject, "do you have any plans for the ball yet?"   
  
"I'm not going."   
  
Severus frowned, "why not?"   
  
"Why do you think?" Dierna snapped.   
  
"Do not use that tone of voice when you speak to me young lady. Just because you are upset does not mean you can speak to me like that."   
  
Dierna scowled at the blanket across her lap, "I'm fine."   
  



	72. Chapter 72

"You fool! You may have ruined us!" Draco screamed, a vein visibly throbbing by his temple. "How could you have done this?"   
  
Macnair stumbled over his words, "sir, the Ministry employees who are not under our control have started to ask questions, I had to say something."  
  
"You told them that the dark lord has returned," Draco hissed.   
  
"Silence! Despite Macnair's lack of judgment, which he will pay for, this has not ruined us."   
  
"My lord?" Draco looked perplexed.   
  
Voldemort fingered his wand, as though he was itching to see if it were still capable of dealing out pain, "the Order was already alerted of my return to power, most likely thanks to my dear meddling uncle. They were looking for a way to alert the rest of the wizarding community to my return no doubt, and now Macnair has done it for them. But on our terms. Gentlemen, the ball is still in our court. We are now free to strike wherever we please. Before we had to use caution to make sure we were not detected. But now that the world is aware of our presence..."  
  
"We can finally strike those who have betrayed us." Draco finished for him.   
  
"Exactly Malfoy," Voldemort clasped his hands behind his back and strode over to the fireplace, "tell me, what is it that we are in the greatest need of at the moment?"   
  
Draco frowned, "I am not sure..."  
  
"Think back young Malfoy, to the last time you fought for me."   
  
He was reminded of the raid on a temple in Greece, "a legitimate seer."   
  
"And I believe I have found one for us. She will not aid us without some persuasion of course... but I am very good at persuading people to do as I want." 

* * *

"What in the world are you doing?"   
  
"Trying to seduce you, is it working?" Morgan asked as she kissed husband from his ear to the corner of his mouth.   
  
"Do not tempt me woman."   
  
"I think it is working..." Morgan smiled as she began to play with the buttons of her husband's shirt.   
  
"That's it, you are in for it now," Severus growled before grabbed her and dropped his head to kiss his wife soundly.   
  
"Ewwww! There are impressionable eyes in the room you know."   
  
Severus sighed, "Why is it that they act the same way at seven as they do at seventeen?"   
  
"Because its disgusting watching you two kiss," Olivia said as she crawled up onto Severus' lap.   
  
"I do not recall inviting you up here."  
  
"I invited myself."   
  
"Hmmm... you disrupt what little time I try to spend with my wife and then crawl on me without permission. What do you propose I do with you?"   
  
"Perhaps we could hang her from the ceiling by her ankles..." Morgan suggested.   
  
Olivia's eyes got large, "I don't like that idea."   
  
"I'm not sure, it does have its merits," Severus mused, "it might actually keep you out of trouble for more than 24 hours."   
  
"I'm not that much trouble!"   
  
"That's debatable." Severus said in a dry tone, "but I am willing to give you a chance to redeem yourself. I know that Kamen has planned something for the ball, I do not know what it is, but I am sure I will not like it. You find out what it is and tell me and you will not be hung from the ceiling."   
  
Olivia giggled, "I already know what he has planned."  
  
"Well?"   
  
"But I promised not to tell... and you said it was important to keep promises."   
  
Severus groaned, "Do not throw my words back in my face like that child."

* * *

"Hey hon, how you doing?"   
  
Dierna shrugged, "I'm fine, really. You two shouldn't stay here long, you'll get in trouble if you're caught in here at this time of night."   
  
Nick frowned and held the back of his hand to Dierna's forehead, "you sure you're feeling alright? It's not like you to worry about getting in trouble..."  
  
"She's probably just tired Nick, perhaps we should go," Serena gave her twin a worried look. She didn't want to leave her alone, but knew it was what she wanted.   
  
"Yes, I'm fine, just a bit tired, so go."   
  
Serena hovered at the door a moment while Nick went on, "you're not fine, you know. You may think that if you keep saying it it'll be true, but that's not going to happen. The sooner you realize you're not fine the better off you'll be."

* * *

"What are you doing out of bed Miss Snape?"  
  
Nimue shifted from foot to foot nervously, "I didn't mean to be out after curfew, Professor Lupin..."  
  
"If you didn't mean to be out after curfew then why are you wandering the halls at this time of night?" Remus' mouth twitched in amusement, although he managed to still look serious.   
  
"It's just that..." Nimue sighed and looked down at her feet, "I had another vision," her voice got very soft, "and I didn't think I should disturb Kalliope with it now that you two... well, I decided to go for a walk and think about it instead."   
  
"Nimue, I want you to know that you can feel free to still come talk to Kalliope when you have visions, even if I am married to her now. As long as you knock I promise it won't bother me. In fact, I think we should go see her now, I'm sure she'll want to hear about your vision."   
  
"Ok," Nimue looked visibly relieved.   
  
"However, we do have one small issue to deal with first..."  
  
Nimue looked up at her Head of House expectantly.   
  
"You cannot wander the hallways like this at night, it is dangerous. Hopefully a deduction of 20 points and a detention will impress the seriousness of it on you."   
  
"But how can I..."  
  
"I will come up with something so that if you need Kalliope for anything you can let her know without leaving the dorms at night. And then either her or I will come get you. Will that work?"   
  
"Yes sir. Professor Lupin, can I ask you something?"   
  
"Of course." P  
  
"Why would Voldemort be interested in using me, what use would I be to him? I know it's a question my parents won't answer, because they think it would be protecting me. But I have to know."

* * *

"I'm rather glad you collapsed today, it saved me the trouble of having to rat you out."   
  
"Eric! What are you doing here?" Dierna looked up, startled.   
  
The old wizard smiled kindly, "I've been watching you for quite some time young lady and you've had me worried. I saw how you barely made it in after running that one day, and quite a few other things that I haven't liked. I was very close to telling your father what was going on."   
  
"How do you know everything that's going on?"   
  
"That is my secret. But, you're a bright enough girl, I don't doubt that you'll figure it out eventually."   
  
"Well, now that you've been so insightful would you mind leaving? I'm not much in the mood for company," Dierna said, but it lacked any heat, her voice was completely devoid of emotion.   
  
"I think you need the company, so I have every intention of staying here for awhile."   
  
Dierna shrugged, "do as you like."   
  
"I will thank you. And as I'm doing as I like, I'm going to offer you a bit of advice. Take this from someone who lost the love of his life many years ago. Life goes on, you may not want it to, but it does. And if you try to hide from the world it's just going to pass you by, you'll live, you'll maybe even find some semblance of happiness, but unless you throw yourself back into the world and life you'll never be able to reclaim the passion you once had."   
  
"And what if I don't want that passion back, what if I don't want to try?"   
  
"Then you might as well be dead yourself child, a life without passion is no life at all. Especially when one is capable of being such a little spitfire like yourself."

* * *

"Nimue... I'm not sure I'm the one to answer that question..." Remus stumbled over his words, not wanting to lie to the girl, but not wanting to be the one to tell her the truth either.   
  
Nimue cocked her head to the side, "I know he wants a seer, and I can understand why he wants one. But why _me_? I'm not very good yet, and I'm no one special."   
  
"I think that's a question your father would answer best."   
  
"Does that mean you're not going to tell me?"   
  
"Yes."   
  
Nimue leveled Remus with a very Snape-ish look, "He doesn't really want me, he could find a seer anywhere. He wants me because it will be a way of hurting my father."   
  
Remus sighed, "We don't know that for sure."   
  
Nimue "I can't think of any other reason though. Perhaps I should leave Hogwarts... if I'm a target I don't want to put other people in danger."

* * *

"How is Ginny?" Sirius asked in the middle of the week after a staff meeting.   
  
"Just fine. Have I told you we were looking at moving?"   
  
"Really? And why is that?"   
  
Harry grinned, "We're so far away right now, and with me teaching it's not very practical. But, if we bought a home in Hogsmeade..."  
  
"You could live at home while teaching here," Sirius finished for his godson. "Sounds like a good plan to me. I might have to suggest the same thing to Elizabeth."   
  
"How is Elizabeth doing and Willow of course?"   
  
"Both fine, but I miss them horribly. We owl each other almost everyday, but it's just not the same." He smiled, "it's good to see Remus finally married, he always said that with his condition no one would want him. I'm glad that he was proved wrong."   
  
"Sirius, I need to ask you something."   
  
"Shoot kid."   
  
"I'd be a fool if I didn't realize I'm going to be a pain target of Voldemort's now that he is back. If something should happen to me will you look after Ginny and the kids?"   
  
"Of course, you don't even need to ask. Is there a reason why you're brining this up now?"   
  
Harry shrugged, "things just seem a bit more ominous lately, hard to say why. Think we have anything to worry about with the ball this weekend?"   
  
Sirius snorted, "You mean besides dragging students out of every dark corner they think is safe for snogging? Thank goodness the school has contraceptive charms all over it... beyond that I can't think of anything."  
  
Harry laughed, "I was thinking of something a bit more serious than that." He tried to pull off an innocent look, "and what makes you think any respectable Hogwarts student would ever sneak off into a dark corner for a bit of innocent snogging?"   
  
"Because Remus loves to tell stories about all the places he caught you and the former Miss Weasley," was the dry answer, which gave both men, even in the midst of dark times, something to laugh about.

* * *

"What do you think about having children?"   
  
Remus was taken off guard for a moment, "honestly Kalliope, I've never really considered it. With my... condition... I never thought I would find a woman who would want to be with me, let alone have a family with me. It could be dangerous, when I transform..."  
  
"We both know very well that the Wolfsbane Severus is making for you now makes you perfectly safe. And isn't he working on something new which would mean you wouldn't transform at all?"   
  
"Yes, but..."  
  
"Then what is there to think about? I've always planned on giving the goddess more daughters."   
  
"And what if I can only give you sons?"   
  
Kalliope shrugged one shoulder as she leaned against her husband, "that's not as important here. If I were still at the temple I would be expected to have daughters, if you couldn't give them to me I would take a second consort. Actually, it's almost better this way. If I had sons at the temple I would not be allowed to keep them, they would be given to the men's tribe while still young to be fostered."   
  
"So, if you stayed at the temple and had sons you wouldn't be able to keep them?"   
  
"I would keep them until they were about seven years old, then they would be ready to start training with the men."   
  
"That's horrible."   
  
"It's a way of life, and much kinder than some others. At least at the temple we do not expose children. Even if we do not raise our own they are still cared for."   
  
"That doesn't mean I have to like the practice," Remus frowned.   
  
"But we're not at the temple," Kalliope gently stroked his face, "we can keep any children we have. And I would be proud to raise any children you give me, even if they are sons. Besides..." she smiled at him a bit wickedly, "think of all the fun we can have in the process."

* * *

By early Saturday afternoon the dorms, or at least the girls' half of them, were in an uproar as preparations for that evening's ball got underway.   
  
"What are you doing up here kid?" Serena asked as Olivia stuck her head into the 6th year girls' room.   
  
"Mum said I could come watch you get ready, if it's alright with you. And I need a favor."   
  
"Sure thing," Serena smiled at her youngest sister, "what do you need?"   
  
"I need you to help me get dressed up for the ball too."   
  
"Did Mum and Dad say you could stay up for it?"   
  
"No, but I'm going anyways."   
  
Serena laughed, "I'm game for anything that undermines their authority. I even think we could manage to shrink down some dress robes for you."

* * *

As it started to get late Zach headed outside in search of Eva. He had seen her head towards the forest from his window and they needed to head towards the Great Hall for the start of the dance.   
  
He couldn't help thinking about how beautiful she looked as he headed towards the tree line. Her dark blue robes were caught by the breeze, fanning the skirt out behind her, and her blond hair whipped around her face.  
  
She turned around just as he reached her, "Zach, what are you doing out here?"   
  
"Looking for you, it's about time to go in. And I brought you this," he handed her a white rose.   
  
"Oh Zach, es ist sehr schön."   
  
Zach didn't have to know the words; her tone implied how much she appreciated the small gesture of affection.   
  
Eva ducked her head shyly as she gently wrapped her fingers around the stem, her hand barely grazing Zach's in a light caress.   
  
"Perhaps soon I'll be able to offer you more than just a simple flower," Zach managed to get out.   
  
Eva blushed a deep pink, "I think I would like this from you."   
  
Zach took pity on his blushing date, "Would you like to head back up?" He asked as he offered her his arm.   
  
"Ja," Eva took the lifeline and tucked her small hand into his elbow. But they hadn't gone three steps when she suddenly stopped in her tracks, clutching her left forearm with her right hand.   
  
"Eva, what is it?"   
  
Eva had turned very pale and she stumbled back several steps from Zach, "nothing, est is nothing, perhaps I just stay out here..."  
  
Zach reached for Eva, concerned that she was hurt, "here, let me help," he pushed her sleeve out of the way and his eyes instant fell on the dark mark emblazoned on his arm. His eyes, flashing green fire, rose to meet hers, "you lied to me..."  
  
"Zach, I can explain..." Eva stuttered.   
  
"Fine, explain to me why you are a death eater. Why you are content to spend your life destroying innocent lives," Zach started to reach for his wand.   
  
Eva turned and ran into the woods; it only took a few steps before she was in far enough to disparate.

* * *

"Do I look nice?" Olivia asked as she spun around, admiring the way the emerald green of her shrunken dress robes flared out around her.  
  
"Beautiful," Serena assured her as she performed a spell to make sections of her hair pink to match her dress.   
  
"Are you getting dressed too?" Olivia turned to ask Dierna.   
  
Dierna shook her head, "no," she glanced at her gold dress laid out on her bed, "I don't think I can."  
  
"But why..."  
  
"Here Olivia," Nimue cut the girl off, "why don't we put these green clips in your hair, they match your dress."   
  
"Nimue, who are you going to the ball with?" Serena asked, realizing she didn't know.   
  
Nimue blushed a bit as she smoothed down the soft purple skirt of her robes, "Peter, he's a 4th year Ravenclaw."   
  
"Ok, I'm ready!" Olivia announced, "I need to go meet my date now."   
  
Serena's mouth fell open as she looked at her little sister and laughed, "you have a date?"   
  
"Yep." Olivia spun around one more time, "I'm going now, bye!"   
  
Serena shook her head as Olivia bounded out of the room, "she's liable to drive Dad crazy, I like that. I'm going to head down too Dierna, you sure you don't want to come?"   
  
Dierna replied negatively and ushered her sisters and dorm mates out of the room. Leaving her alone again. As she turned to get a book she caught her reflection in the mirror.   
  
For the first time in weeks she really looked at herself. She forced herself to see the changes her family had seen. She sighed as she looked at her reflection. She had lost weight, and she had dark circles under her eyes. She hated what she saw, but it signified what she had become. Consumed by grief she had given up.   
  
_Dierna, you are a coward. Everyone has told you to keep living, but you haven't listened. Why? Because it was easier to lose yourself to grief than to confront your problems.   
_  
For the first time since the news of Stefan had come Dierna truly opened her eyes. She listened to her own voice. She raised her chin, assuming the regal pose she had often used before. She would not allow defeat to keep her down anymore.   
  
Sighing she reached for the dress robes, which were still laid out on her bed. But, she paused to take one last long look in the mirror, "goodbye Stefan, I love you with all my heart, but I need to keep living." She took off the necklace with the ring, and slid the engagement ring onto her left ring finger. It was time to make some changes.   
  



	73. Chapter 73

William smiled as he reached the staircase outside the Great Hall. Standing nervously at the bottom of the steps was Sophia, dressed in a vibrant shade of blue. "You look great," he said as he bent to kiss her cheek. "Ready to go in?"   
  
"I think so," Sophia looked down at her dress, "I'm still not sure I understand your fashions wizard, is this like what all the other girls will be wearing?"   
  
William looked down at her dress, "honestly, I don't pay that much attention to female fashion. I have no idea. But I like it."   
  
Sophia beamed up at him, "I'm glad you like it."  
  
"So, are you going to be sticking around here next year since Kalliope married Professor Lupin?"   
  
Sophia nodded, "yes, I'm going to really go to school here next year."  
  
"Good," William said as he took her hand, "I might have to find some good excuses for stopping by next year."

* * *

"There you are, I was beginning to wonder if you were going to stand me up!" Kamen exclaimed.   
  
"I was just getting pretty for you," Olivia said as she twirled around, "do you like my dress?"   
  
"I love it!"   
  
"Kamen, have you seen your sister?" Severus asked as he came up behind his son.   
  
"Which one?"   
  
Severus sighed, "Dierna, I was rather hoping she'd at least try to socialize tonight."   
  
"I saw her, she said she's not coming," Olivia filled in.   
  
Severus frowned, "and what are you doing up little miss, I thought you were supposed to be in bed?"   
  
"Sorry Dad, she's my date, there's no way you're sending my date to bed early. How would I look if I showed up alone?" Kamen said as he swung Olivia up on his back.   
  
"Fine, but when she falls asleep halfway into the dance you are going to be responsible for carrying her to bed."   
  
"Not a problem, I think I can handle this midget."   
  
"Hey!" Olivia pounded on Kamen's shoulder from her perch on his back, "I'm not a midget."   
  
"Whatever you say short-stuff. You ready to dance?"

* * *

Dierna took a deep breath, she could do this. She hesitantly stepped over the threshold into the Great Hall. She tilted her head back to look at the candle illuminated ceiling as she paused in the doorway.   
  
She directed her gaze to the couples on the dance floor, and she felt her heart squeeze in agony. She couldn't do this, she wasn't ready. She turned back around, ready to run in defeat, but she stopped herself. She sighed again. She had to do this tonight; it had to be her first step back towards a real life.   
  
She hesitated for a moment, trying to work up the courage to join her friends when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She slowly turned around and managed a half smile when she saw it was her father.   
  
Severus raised a questioning eyebrow, "I thought you weren't coming."   
  
"I wasn't planning on it."   
  
"Care to tell me what changed your mind?"   
  
Dierna ducked her head and murmured her own question, "If I tell you then will you promise never to use it against me?"   
  
Severus gently took both of his daughter's hands in his own, "I promise." He waited with interest to see what she would say.   
  
Dierna raised her head up to look her father in the eye, "you were right." When Severus merely raised an eyebrow at that statement she continued on, "I need to keep living my life. I finally saw what I was doing to myself."   
  
Severus smiled gently down at her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. He took a firmer grip on her hands and held her out at arms length and surveyed his daughter from head to toe. "Where is my little girl? You look so beautiful tonight, so grown up. That hurts me you know, I was rather hoping you would stay my little girl forever."   
  
Dierna blushed slightly, "I'll always be your little girl."   
  
"Come here," Severus pulled Dierna into a warm hug, showing a rare moment of affection in public. He held onto her for a long moment, thankful that she appeared to finally be handling her grief, and he wouldn't have to worry about her hurting herself any more. "So, would you consider sharing a dance with your father?"   
  
Dierna grinned up at him when she was finally released from the hug, her first real smile in weeks. "Of course I will."   
  
Severus spun her out on to the dance floor, and they easily fell into the rhythm of the waltz. "You dance very well," he remarked as he held her close.  
  
Dierna smiled, "well, I learned from the best."   
  
Severus nearly allowed himself to laugh at that answer, but only gave her a slight smirk, "I had completely forgotten about that, how old were you?"   
  
Dierna bit her lip as she thought about it, "I remember it perfectly, I was nine. I had a sore throat so I had to stay home while Mum took everyone else shopping. I was bored and nearly driving you out of your mind so you decided to teach me how to dance in an attempt to keep me entertained."   
  
Severus smiled at the memory, "you are much easier to dance with than your mother is, but don't tell her that."   
  
Dierna raised an eyebrow, "why is it easier to dance with me?"   
  
"Because, you're at least eight inches taller than she is, your height makes all the difference."   
  
Dierna smiled at her father's dry response, her second smile in five minutes. She was beginning to think she might just be fine after all. Even without Stefan by her side.

* * *

Serena smiled as Nick gently took her face between his hands and kissed her softly. It amazed her how different this was from her relationship with Mark. There was nothing demanding when she was with Nick, she felt no pressure. Everything was so relaxed and just right somehow.   
  
"Do you want to dance or just stay here and snog all night?" Nick teased as his lips left hers.   
  
"Stay here."   
  
"Wrong answer."   
  
The two teens groaned.   
  
Remus shook his head at their dismay, "I find you back here again and it will be points off." He continued on as Nick tried to interrupt him, "Yes Mr. Wood, I know very well that you recently won the House quidditch cup, and I'm very proud to have it sitting in my office, but that doesn't mean I won't take off points from my own House. You know the school policies on public displays of affection."   
  
"Yeah, yeah, we get it," Nick said as he took Serena's hand, "no more sneaking off into dark corners, can we go now?"   
  
"Did I ever have that much attitude?" Harry asked as he joined Remus in watching the young couple head back towards the dance floor.  
  
"You're kidding, right?"   
  
"No."   
  
"Harry James Potter, do you not remember the number of times I caught you and Ginny in Filch's broom cupboard?"   
  
Harry looked down sheepishly as he ran his hand through perpetually messy hair, "guess you have a point."   
  
"Yes I do, and if you know what's good for you and your marriage you'll get yourself home to your wife as soon as possible."  
  
Harry shook his head, "who would have thought that you and Sirius would turn in to such busy-bodies. When you're done trying to fix my marriage you might take time to notice that I'm starting to do just fine fixing it on my own."   
  
"About time. I know for a fact that your godfather was looking for a couple of good hexes to use on you if you let Ginny slip through your fingers."

* * *

"What have you done?!" Eric bellowed.   
  
"What have I done?" Zach looked at his grandfather incredulously, "did you know that Eva was a spy?"   
  
Eric through his hands up in frustration, "yes I knew she was a spy."   
  
"You're just as bad as she is then, I am tired of being surrounded by people who double cross..."  
  
"She is a spy for us Zach."   
  
Zach looked confused, "but she has the dark mark on her arm..."  
  
"Yes she does, a very unfortunate circumstance, but she was forced into it. She has been spying for the Order since before you met her. Do you remember how beat up she was when you first met her, the mass of bruises that covered her face?"   
  
Zach nodded slowly.   
  
"She came very close to betraying her true loyalties that night, they nearly killed her. I only hope we're not too late this time."   
  
"What do you mean? I'm assuming when she disapparated she went to _them,_ but what does that have to do with losing her?"   
  
"My darling grandson, you can be incredibly dense sometimes. You broke that girl's heart tonight when you pulled your wand on her, she loved you..."  
  
"I wasn't going to hex her! Only stun her if she tried to attack me!"   
  
"But she didn't know that! You scared her, broke what fragile amount of trust this abused girl was able to build up. Do you realize that Malfoy wants her? He's requested from the dark lord that she be his... new toy. After what you did to her tonight she may just give in, she's been able to fight for herself so far, but she may now be lost to us."   
  
"I'm going after her," Zach said as he reached for his cloak, "I won't let them hurt her."   
  
"Wait!" Eric put a restraining hand on his grandson's arm, "you have to wait. If you go after her now they will kill you and torture her. You must wait until the time is right. We will do everything we can to get her back. I promise."

* * *

Dierna had slipped out of the ball early. She had tried her hardest, but she just wasn't ready to spend the whole night trying to act cheerful when she really felt wretched.   
  
She slipped back up to her room to change out of her dress robes, and decided to head down to the library for some late night studying. With everyone else still in the Great Hall she might even get a chance to explore the restricted section for awhile undisturbed.   
  
For several hours she worked diligently over her Transfiguration homework. Her grades had dropped since she had received the news about Stefan, but now she was determined to do whatever she could to bring them back up before exams, which were fast approaching. When she finally closed the textbook, confidant that her homework had been done much more thoroughly than it had in weeks, she was ready to do some reading for her own enjoyment.

She slowly strolled through the rows of bookshelves in the restricted section, waiting for something to catch her eye. She was so engrossed in her perusal that she didn't hear Connor come up behind her.

* * *

"I think my date is out for the night," Kamen said as he danced closely with Celeste. He pointed to where his youngest sister was sleeping, lying across a couple of chairs.   
  
"I think you're right," Celeste smiled up at Kamen. He had changed since he first asked her out, but she wasn't quite sure why. And she wasn't sure if she even cared why. She liked the change. He seemed so much more mature, and he really was good looking...  
  
"I planned something for tonight, along with William, I hope you don't mind if we carry out our plans as scheduled."   
  
Celeste gave him a cautious look, "what did you plan?"  
  
"Just a little bit of entertainment..." he grinned devilishly, "we got our hands on a good supply of Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-bangs, decided this party could use a few fireworks."   
  
"Your father is going to kill you."   
  
His eyes lit with the challenge, "then let's hope that in all the confusion that goes with setting off fireworks indoors I'll be able to make it back to Gryffindor Tower before he catches me."

* * *

"I haven't seen you for a long time..." Connor said in a greasy voice as he slowly circled Dierna, like a predator stalking its prey.   
  
"That's because I make a point of avoiding you," Dierna responded coolly, her head held high as she kept her eyes firmly trained on Connor while also looking for the best way out.   
  
"That's a shame; perhaps if you'd been a little more generous in your affections for me things would have gone better for you. All this useless grief..."  
  
"What are you talking about you insufferable git?"  
  
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing, just pondering what your fate is going to be?"   
  
Dierna's eyes narrowed, "what do you know?"   
  
"More than you do."   
  
Dierna snorted, "I highly doubt that, and you're an appalling liar."   
  
"And how would you know if I'm lying, miss high and mighty Gryffindor?"   
  
She gave him a scathing glance, "because, if there is one thing I have learned the hard way it is that my father abhors lying. His distaste for it has taught me how to recognize it."   
  
"And why would I want to tell lies to such a sweet thing as you," Connor gave her a menacing smile, "I bet you didn't win Stefan over with the sharp side of your tongue, I bet you showed him your sweeter side. That's something I'm willing to wager he would love to see now, it would be a welcome change..."  
  
Dierna's eyes widened perceptively, "what do you mean it's something he would love to see _now_?"  
  
"I... I meant nothing by it," Connor stammered, "really, there's nothing about Stefan..."  
  
"He's alive," Dierna nearly crashed into several shelves of books as she sprinted out of the library, leaving Connor cursing himself and making plans to go tell his father what he had let slip.

* * *

"I can't believe you still insist on pulling stunts like this at your age Kamen. You are legally an adult, when are you going to start acting like one?!"   
  
"Maybe when you start treating me like one Dad!"   
  
"I treat you in a manner reflecting your actions," Severus snapped as he continued to drag his son by the ear down to his office, "setting off fireworks inside the school is something I associate with the infamous Weasley twins, not my own children, and especially not my son who will be graduating in a couple of weeks. Provided that your spineless Head of House does not expel you for this. Gryffindor bravery and courage do seem to have a tendency of falling short when there are rules involved."   
  
"Alright, alright, I get the point. Now would you please stop trying to pull my bloody ear off?"   
  
"I will when we reach my office."  
  
Kamen swore under his breath as they descended the stone steps down into the dungeons, trying not to trip as he was unceremoniously dragged along.   
  
"Explain yourself," Severus commanded as he let go of his son and slammed his office door closed.   
  
Kamen shrugged, "it's my last big event at Hogwarts, thought I'd go out with a bang... literally."   
  
Severus crossed his arms over his chest and glared at his son in the cold piercing manner that caused other students to turn and run.   
  
"This isn't just about the fireworks, is it?" Kamen asked after several minutes of silent glaring.   
  
"No it is not, I had a rather enlightening conversation with _Professor_ Black tonight."   
  
Kamen decided to try and feign innocence, "what of it? He's a fairly interesting man, I figure he knows enough stories to fill several enlightening conversations."   
  
"Is it true?"  
  
"Is what true?"   
  
"Dammit Kamen, did you or did you not join the Grigorian Brotherhood? And do not lie to me or try to maintain this act of innocence."   
  
Kamen knew that having come this far his father was not going to back down now. He sighed and slowly rolled up his sleeve, displaying the Brotherhood tattoo.   
  
"Do you realize what you have done?" Severus hissed as he placed his hands on his desk, glaring menacingly at his son.  
  
"I think I do," Kamen replied smoothly, standing on the opposite side of the desk he also put his hands down on it, mirroring his father's posture.   
  
"Of all the irresponsible things to have done Kamen, this is by far..."  
  
"It's not as bad as you think! For Merlin's sake, Dumbledore was head of the Brotherhood, it's a just cause!"   
  
"Exactly, Dumbledore was the head of the Grigorian Brotherhood, which is why Voldemort swore before Potter managed to halfway defeat him that he would do whatever was necessary to completely destroy the Brotherhood." 

* * *

Dierna wasn't sure where she was running to; all she could think about was that Stefan was alive. Alive! It had to be the most wonderful word ever. She tried to figure out what she could do with this new piece of information.   
  
She quickly decided against going to her father with it. He would either refuse to believe her or tell her that it was a matter for the Order of the Phoenix to deal with; she would just have to wait. And she couldn't wait, not after she had believed Stefan to be dead, only to find out he was still alive.   
  
Her next idea was her Head of House. Professor Lupin was always ready to offer a sympathetic ear. But she quickly threw out that idea too. The only help he would offer would be to tell her father.   
  
Eric. The thought was enough to stop Dierna in her tracks. Eric would help her, she knew it. But how to reach him... Dierna howled in frustration. When she had asked him how he was to be found he had answered her in riddles. She tried to remember his exact words as she searched around her, hoping to find some clue. The only part of his hints she could remember was on of the last things he had told her, 'I'll leave you with that to reflect on'. She muttered the words over to herself several times. As she was in the middle of the phrase for the sixth time her eyes fell on her reflection in a gilded mirror hanging on the opposite wall and she gasped in understanding.

* * *

Eva hung her head as she was dragged into the presence of the dark lord. She knew she was radiating fear. She only hoped he could not surmise the real reason behind it.   
  
"Well Miss Bhaer, I received a rather interesting report tonight."   
  
"Did you my lord?" Eva hoped that her eyes, which were large with fear, would make her look innocent. She winced in pain as Malfoy tightened the grip he had on her right arm. She knew that at the very least she would be left with a dark bruise in the shape of his hand curling around her arm.   
  
"Do not play the fool with me girl!" Voldemort snapped. His hand dropped down to his side and Eva swore he was reaching for his wand until the back of his hand connected with her face hard enough to send her staggering back a couple of steps. It was only Malfoy's vice-like grip on her arm that kept her upright.   
  
"Please my lord," Eva kept her voice pitched low, trying to hide the way it trembled, "tell me what I have done to offend you so that I might remedy it, I would hate to fall into disfavor."   
  
"I believe it is already too late for that girl," Malfoy hissed in her ear.  
  
"I have been informed that one of the members of Dumbledore's crusade, the Order of the Phoenix," he hissed the name in sharp snake-like tones, "saw your dark mark tonight. Your identity was revealed and yet you did nothing, you did not dispose of him or even so much as alter his memory."   
  
Relief flooded through Eva, her status as a spy had not yet been detected, but she was careful not to let her relief show, "I am sorry my lord," she stammered, "he pulled his wand on me und I was scared," that was certainly true enough, Zach had scared her, "I didn't know was ich soll machen."   
  
"Poor child," Voldemort brought a cold bony hand up to cup her cheek, "perhaps I shall not make an example of you tonight. But it is now clear to me that you are not yet fit to serve in my ranks of Death Eaters. Malfoy!"   
  
"Yes my lord?" Malfoy looked up, trying to fight a smile as he had a vague idea of what was coming.   
  
"I leave Miss Bhaer in your capable hands. You will make sure that she knows her place and is loyal to us. Train her as you will."   
  
Eva nearly collapsed as Voldemort pronounced her sentence. She had a feeling that the killing curse would be merciful at this point.


	74. Chapter 74

"Eric! Where are you?" Dierna beat on the mirror with clenched fists. A lot of things were starting to make sense now. How he knew everything that was going on and how he could travel almost anywhere. Now if she could only get him to realize that she needed him...  
  
"Please Eric, I need your help!" Dierna cried in frustration. She needed help and she needed it now. "Please Eric..." she leaned her head against the mirror as she wept. It wasn't fair. Without Eric's help she had no way of getting to Stefan. She slowly raised her head as an idea began to take form.   
  
She may not be able to get a hold of Eric this way, but she was sure she could find him if she got to Paris... all she had to do was get to the international floo station in Hogsmeade, from there she could get to Paris and the Opera House.   
  
It was too dangerous to use her father's fireplace to get to Hogsmeade, he might be down there. She took off at a run again, heading out the doors of the school as she went out into the black night. She clutched her wand in her hand, hoping she might not have reason to use it.   
  
As Dierna ran off into the night Nimue crept out of the alcove she had been standing in. It hadn't taken her long to realize that her sister had every intention of going into Voldemort's lair herself to find Stefan. Nimue was still trying to figure out what to do, and staring curiously at the gilded mirror when a face other than her own appeared in it. 

* * *

"Why does it matter that Voldemort wants to destroy the Brotherhood?"   
  
"Do you not understand the danger that it puts you in?"   
  
Kamen sighed as he seated himself across from his father, "Dad, I'm of age, I'm an adult and I'm graduating in only a couple more weeks. When are you going to stop trying to protect me and let me lead my own life? For Merlin's sake, Viviane is married and you still try to tell her what to do. You have to stop sometime."   
  
"I only want you to make good decisions. I am still paying the price for bad decisions I made in my youth and I d not want you to do the same."  
  
"I know you only want what's best for me, but I need to start figuring out what that is on my own. How do you expect me to function on my own once I graduate if you still insist on running my life?"   
  
Severus frowned, "what are your plans for after graduation?"   
  
Kamen smiled, "me and William are going to get a flat together. Figured that since we didn't kill each other after living together for seven years here we might as well keep on that way."   
  
"And how do you propose on paying rent? You need a job, not just this Brotherhood nonsense."  
  
Kamen's grin widened, "we've got tryout dates, figured I might be able to make it onto one of the pro quidditch teams."   
  
"Sweet Circe..."  
  
"Now come on Dad, I know you don't like the idea, but I'm good. And it will give me something to do until I find what you consider to be a real job."   
  
"Hmmmm... we'll have to wait and see how you do on your NEWTs to see if you can get a real job."   
  
Kamen rolled his eyes, "I know I haven't exactly applied myself scholastically, but I'm sure I'll get a job. Even one that lives up to your standards."   
  
"All I ask is that you be careful. Play quidditch if you want, get the flat with William. But watch yourself where the Grigorian Brotherhood is concerned. I know they seem an attractive group, and as long as they have Dumbledore's backing they can't be too bad, but they do have a reputation for resorting to rather unsavory means when necessary." 

* * *

Dierna cursed herself when she realized she had made it to the floo station without bringing any money. Luckily for her the wizard on duty was only a couple of years older than herself, and by batting her eyelashes and assuring him it was an emergency she convinced him to send the charge to Professor Snape at Hogwarts and it would cause no problems. She only hoped she got back to the school before the bill did or she would be in a world of trouble.   
  
She was also disappointed to learn that the Paris Opera House was not connected to the floo network, but she could get to within a few blocks of it. She figured that as long as she had come this far she'd take what she could get. Another couple of blocks was not going to deter her. She had to get to Stefan.   
  
Giving the attendant one last false smile she threw the floo powder into the fire and giving the address the wizard had given her was swept away. She nearly tripped on the grate at the other end, but managed to right herself quickly before hurrying out the door of the café she had been transported to. Once outside it took her a moment to get her bearings, but she was soon on her way. Before too long the impressive expanse of the Opera building was looming above her.   
  
Dierna fought back her feelings of fear as she slowly pushed open the large main doors, letting herself into the main foyer. Now that she was here where did she go?   
  
She looked around her, but nothing gave her any idea as to where the entrance to Eric's lair might be. She was just about ready to give up when she caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye. But when she turned there was no one there. However she felt compelled to investigate and moved to examine the portrait hanging on the wall.   
  
"It's a magical painting, however she is very good at pretending to be muggle produced," a voice said from behind her. 

* * *

"What in the world are you two doing?" Morgan asked from the doorway. She looked concernedly between her husband and son, thinking that the two of them must have been hexed.   
  
"Just talking and having a drink, care to join us?" Severus asked smoothly.   
  
Morgan shook her head in bewilderment, "no blood, no screaming, no pleas for mercy... this was not the scene I expected to find."   
  
"Aw, come on Mum, we're not usually that bad."   
  
"Yes you are," Morgan frowned, "I can't remember the last time the two of you weren't at each other's throats. Are you both feeling ok?"   
  
Severus measured his words carefully, he and Kamen had found a common ground, they had both decided not to mention the Brotherhood to Morgan, "as I said, we're merely talking. We were actually discussing Kamen's plans for after graduation."  
  
Morgan eyebrows shot up as she looked at her son, "you told him about your plans to play quidditch and he didn't hit the roof?"   
  
Kamen flashed her a brilliant smile, "we've come to a truce. I agree to look for a 'real' job while I'm playing quidditch and Dad tries to refrain from saying anything about the other decisions I make. We should have done this sooner; you might have actually had some peace and quiet once in awhile."   
  
Morgan narrowed her eyes, "what are you both keeping from me?"  
  
"Nothing," Kamen said a bit too quickly.   
  


* * *

Dierna spun around, her hand instantly going for her wand. But she breathed a sigh of relief and dropped her hand back down to her side when she saw it was only Zach, "what are you doing here?"  
  
Zach frowned slightly, "I think a better question would be what are _you_ doing here?" It's not safe and you most certainly do not have permission to be out of the school. I think we need to contact your parents."   
  
"Please don't! Please... Stefan may be alive, but I have to know for certain. I know your grandfather can tell me if it is really true or not. Please don't send me back yet."   
  
Zach sighed, Dierna's pleading tone cut through his better judgment, "fine, you may ask him what he knows but then you are going straight back to the school. You are safe enough here for now but who knows what could have happened to you..." he cut himself off quickly, "come on then" he took her arm and turned her back towards the portrait, "you can stop pretending now Venus, this one knows my grandfather."   
  
The portrait of the goddess swept her long hair over her shoulder with a graceful movement, "well you could have told me that a bit sooner instead of just standing there while I have to pretend to be just another of those horrid lifeless paintings..."  
  
"Never get a guardian with attitude," Zach whispered to Dierna as the goddess continued to carry on. Finally Zach had enough and cut it, "we are in a bit of a hurry..."  
  
The goddess pouted and turned away from them, "fine, no one ever stops to talk to me, I'm used to it by now. The password?"  
  
"Psyche," Zach couldn't help smiling.   
  
"Hmpf... that little tramp..." but the portrait obligingly swung open revealing a narrow and rather unsteady looking staircase.   
  
"We could have taken another way it," Zach admitted, "but she does get lonely and her favorite pastime is giving me a hard time."  
  
The staircase appeared to plunge down into infinite darkness as Dierna followed Zach down. Torches along the wall flared up as the passed them and died away just as quickly, providing just enough light for them to see only a few feet in front of them.   
  
"Don't touch the walls," Zach cautioned, "only the railing. He's rigged up some sort of traps into the walls, you touch them and they suck you in, trapping you in some sort of chamber... just be careful."   
  
When they reached the bottom of the stairs they stepped into a pool of pale simulated moonlight. In awe Dierna glanced around her, first at the ceiling which reproduced the sky, and then at the wide expanse of magical forest in front of them, "how do we get through?"   
  
"You are of age and allowed to do magic outside of Hogwarts, correct?"   
  
"Yes."   
  
"Good," Zach grabbed a lantern which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, "keep your wand out at all times and be ready for anything. Once we find the starting point of the path we should be safe, but occasionally things do happen..."  
  


* * *

"I think the two of you better start talking," Morgan crossed her arms over her chest.   
  
"Come off it Mum, there's nothing you need to know about."  
  
"I think I'll decide that for myself."   
  
Severus spoke up calmly, Morgan rarely got angry, but when she did it was not a pretty sight, and he hoped she would be fairly easy to calm down this time, "Morgan, Kamen has asked to join the Order of the Phoenix. I have told him that once he graduates it will be his decision to make."   
  
"There's more to it than that," Morgan observed.   
  
"Yes there is," Severus agreed, "in the mean time our son has found another way to contribute to the war."   
  
"What have you done?" Morgan asked as she turned on her son.   
  
"Mum, I'm going to ask you not to make me answer that. There are still some things I need to figure out on my own, and there are some things I've done I'm not particularly proud of that I need to come to terms with. But I will tell you when I'm ready."   
  
Morgan sighed, "fine, but if you ever feel the need to talk know that I'm here for you."   
  
Kamen nodded in acknowledgement, "in that case I'm going to head up to bed."   
  
Morgan sank down into the chair her son had occupied after he left, "when did he grow up?" she muttered to herself.  
  
Severus didn't answer her, but he could have. Kamen had confided to him some of the actions he had undertaken as part of the Brotherhood. There were some things that did not leave a person unchanged.   
  


* * *

Dierna was relieved to be out of the forest. Although nothing had attacked them she knew it had only been to luck. Even Zach had been nervous, and he worked with dragons everyday.   
  
Zach discarded the lantern as they passed through several rooms, which were set up as laboratories. Dierna was amazed, not even her father's lab was this complete. She prided herself on being able to recognize everything in her father's cabinets without looking at the label. But Eric had things she had never seen before.   
  
She left Zach's side for a moment to look at a jar that seemed to be glimmering with its own silvery light. Unicorn blood! Her eyes widened slightly, she had a feeling this had not been obtained legally. At Zach's beckoning she reluctantly turned away from her explorations and joined him in front of another portrait. However this portrait, of a ballerina, was truly of non-magical production.   
  
"Another guardian?" she asked, examining the painting with interest.   
  
Zach nodded, "she is my grandmother," he said softly as he pressed his hand to a family crest in the corner of the painting, "charmed to respond to handprints, not passwords. This is my grandfather's most guarded room."   
  
"Yes it is," a cheerful voice said as they crossed the threshold, "I knew you would come to see me eventually girl. Welcome to my sanctum sanctorum, my sanctuary of sanctuaries." 

* * *

Rheia bent over the scrying bowl in intent concentration. "I can no longer See as I once did..." she muttered more to herself than to her attendants. Sighing she waved her hand over the water, dispelling what remained of the murky vision. "Bring Cadmus to me," she directed on of the young priestesses standing against the wall.   
  
As she waited for the leader of the men's tribe to join her she looked around at the priestesses surrounding her. None of them were novices, they had all been initiated, but they still seemed so young. She sighed again, had they always joined the ranks of the priestesses at this early of an age? Perhaps she was just getting too old...  
  
She glanced up sharply as Cadmus appeared at the entrance to the sanctuary, laying aside his weapons as a show of respect. He came forward and bowed low to the high priestess. Sometimes he questioned the methods this woman used, but he also had a great deal of respect for her.   
  
"I have a mission for you Cadmus," Rheia had made her decision. She would do whatever was necessary to insure that the old ways did not die out, no matter the cost, "you must go into the wizarding world and bring Kalliope back with you. Do not return without her." 

* * *

"Nimue, what are you doing here?!" Dierna cried as she stepped into Eric's sanctuary. She gasped as she looked around, her little sister temporarily forgotten. The room was circular and lined floor to ceiling with panels of mirrors. In the middle of the room was a silver tree with a length of rope hanging from it.   
  
"Well my dear, if you hadn't been in such a rush you would have been here earlier as well." Eric gave her a distorted smile, "I was out in my lab when you called me so I didn't hear you at first. Bu the time I got here you were gone, but your sister was still hanging about."   
  
Zach buried his face in his hands, "they both have to go back now, they should not be here, they should not have left the school."   
  
"Seems to me that you should not have left the school either my boy," Eric countered.   
  
Zach glared at him, "I am here because I am going after Eva, I'm not going to sit idly by when anything could have happened to her by now."   
  
"It has only been a few hours since she went back to them, she may not be in too much danger yet. I know Malfoy, he likes to drag things out, the girl will still be alive."   
  
"I don't care, I love her too much to lose her now!"   
  
Eric smiled sadly, "that, my boy, is something I understand all too well... I will help you. But first, I want to know how I can help these two young ladies."   
  
"I need to know if Stefan is alive," Dierna stepped forward, "I have to know. I don't care what it takes, I have to know."   
  
Eric nodded slowly, "very well then, I will show you what you want to know, but I can offer you no more help than that."   
  
"I understand, I just have to know..."  
  
"Come here then child," Eric turned to Zach, "you know how this works, go ahead and do what you must."   
  
Dierna followed Eric to one of the long mirrors and stood before it. She was about to ask him how it worked when there was the sound of shattering glass from behind them.   
  
She quickly spun around, but was surprised to see that except for the fact that Zach was now gone the room looked exactly the same as before. None of the mirrors were broken.   
  
"Don't be alarmed child," Eric patted her arm as he turned her back to the mirror in front of them, "they make that sound when you use them to travel. Now, give me your hand, that's right, and press it right up against the glass. Alright then, tell them what you want to see."  
  
Dierna stared at her reflection in the mirror, straight into her own large green eyes, "please," she whispered, "show me where Stefan is."   
  
She heard Nimue gasp from behind her, but was too surprised by what was happening in front of her to make any noise of her own. The mirror, which had been acting as any normal, respectable, mirror would by reflecting what was in front of it seemed to have become a window.   
  
Dierna's breath became shaky and irregular as she stared at the scene before her. She didn't even notice the supporting arm Eric slid around her waist to keep her from falling. 

* * *

Zach stepped carefully into the dim room. The mirrors didn't show all so there was a chance that some death eater might be hiding in a dark corner that he hadn't noticed from the room of mirrors. But a quick survey of the room showed him that it was empty, except for the one thing he had come for.   
  
"Eva, please be alright..." he whispered as he knelt down next to the crumpled form huddled against the wall. He knew a moment of fear when she didn't respond to his touch. Starting to panic he gently rolled her over and nearly cried when he saw the mass of bruises covering her face. They were all new, some of them were still darkening. Bruises covered her arms too, some of them obvious handprints.   
  
"Please Eva, wake up," he pleaded as he carefully moved her limp form, wanting to hold her close to him.   
  
As he was trying to settle her against him Eva's grey eyes snapped open and she stifled a scream as she tried to push away from him.   
  
"Eva, its me, I won't hurt you, I promise. The last thing I want is to see you hurt," Zach quickly tried to sooth the agitated woman in his arms.  
  
"Zach? Mein Gott... I thought you were one of _them_," Eva rasped out, "Is it really you?" she asked as she threw herself into his arms.   
  
"You're safe now. I won't let them hurt you again," Zach gently cupped Eva's face between his hands as he surveyed her injuries, "what did they do to you?"   
  
"Nothing that won't heal with time," Eva said, forcing a smile.  
  
"Come on, I'm going to get you out of here."   
  
"Nein."  
  
"No?" Zach's look was one of utter confusion, "it's not safe here we have to leave, and I am most certainly taking you with me."   
  
Eva smiled but shook her head, "you have to leave, but I must stay."   
  
"But why..."  
  
"Shhh... let me explain." Eva shifted painfully on the hard stone floor, "the last time Malfoy took a swing at me he thought I had passed out, they left me on the floor while plans were being made. They are going to attack the school tonight, Voldemort wants Nimue. He plans to use her as a way to get to Professor Snape, and he wants his own seer. You must warn them."   
  
"But Nimue isn't even at the school, she's with my grandfather right now..."  
  
"But they do not know that. You must go Zach and warn the school."   
  
"Come with me."   
  
"No, if I am gone they know that they have been warned. I must stay."   
  
Zach was not happy with the arrangement. But he knew it had to be carried out as Eva had said. "Here," he reached into his pockets, "I wasn't sure of the condition you were going to be in so I swiped these from my grandfather's stores." He handed her two small blue vials, "those will help with the pain, I have one here for the bruising but if you're staying here you can't risk taking it. It wouldn't do you any good if they left you a bruised mess and came back to see you all but healed."   
  
Eva gave him a small smile, "no it wouldn't, but I will gladly take the one for pain." She quickly drained one vial and handed the other back to Zach, "I can only take one now and I don't want them to find this one on me."   
  
"You're sure you'll be alright?"   
  
Eva nodded, "ja, du musst gehen."   
  
Zach sighed reluctantly, but bent to kiss Eva softly before standing up. "I'm coming back for you, as soon as I inform the school of the plans for attack."   
  
"Please, go before they come back," Eva wiped away the tears that had started to fall. For all she knew the room could have been monitored this entire time, but perhaps not... she wasn't even sure if she'd still be alive by the time Zach returned to her, but the school had to be warned.   
  
Zach paused as he reached the mirror on the opposite wall which would take him back, "I will come back, and I'm sorry I didn't give you a chance to explain earlier tonight. I love you."   
  
Eva curled up in a miserable ball on the floor as Zach left, not sure if she would see him again, but maintaining a small glimmer of hope because she knew that he loved her.   
  



	75. Chapter 75

Cadmus reluctantly strode up to the gates of Hogwarts, not sure how he would be received. One did not just order Kalliope to do anything, but then again no one dared disobey the orders of the high priestess either. He found himself wedged tightly between the proverbial rock and a hard place.  
  
He looked up at the night sky as he waited at the gate for someone to let him in. The same stars that he used to guide his way at night in Greece shown above him here. He hoped that it was a good omen.   
  
Perhaps if he explained to Kalliope how much she was needed at the temple she would listen to reason. There had been a number of signs from the goddess lately, none of them good, which had the tribes worried. When they turned to the temple for help they found a lack of answers to their questions. Some even claimed that the goddess had deserted them. But Cadmus thought otherwise, he believed that all they needed now was a change of leadership, but that would follow the monumental task of convincing Kalliope to return with him.

"Cadmus, what are you doing here?"   
  
The warrior looked up in surprise to see that Kalliope herself had come to greet him, "looking for an audience with you priestess."   
  
"At this hour of the night?"   
  
"The matter is a serious one, and requires your immediate attention."   
  
Kalliope frowned, "and is this another scheme of Rheia's?"

* * *

Charlie's mouth fell open in surprise as the blanket hit him in the face, and barely had the presence of mind to catch it before it fell to the ground. He didn't even know what to say.   
  
Yes, Meg had been a bit emotional the last couple of weeks, but they had all been under a lot of stress. He had left her sound asleep when he went on patrol duty earlier that night, and that was how he had expected to find her when he returned. He had not expected to come back this late, or early depending on how you looked at it, to an enraged wife who was kicking him out of their bedroom.   
  
"What happened?" he finally managed to ask.   
  
"You are what happened," Meg hissed at him, keeping her voice low so as not to wake the children.'   
  
"I don't understand," Charlie was now thoroughly confused.   
  
"I'm pregnant."   
  
Charlie's face broke into a large grin, until he saw the look on his wife's face, "isn't that a good thing?"   
  
"No it is not!" Meg was livid, "Alan isn't even a year old yet, I was not expecting to do this again so soon, and Voldemort is back! We're in a war. This is no time to be having a baby."   
  
"Alright..." Charlie tried to proceed with caution, not wanting to upset his wife further, "I understand it may not be the most ideal situation, but we were planning on another child eventually."   
  
"Yes, eventually, not now!" Meg was no longer watching the level of her voice. "This is not what I need right now. I'm supposed to be setting protection charms on the school, I can't perform all of them when I'm pregnant."   
  
"Meg, darling, everything will be alright. It doesn't matter that this is not the most opportune time to increase our family, I know you still want this child."   
  
Meg was not at all cajoled. Deciding that she wasn't going to waste anymore words on her husband she slammed the bedroom door in his face, leaving Charlie to make himself comfortable on the couch for the rest of the night.

* * *

Zach came back through the mirror and into his grandfather's sanctuary.   
  
"Where is the girl?" Eric immediately asked.   
  
"It was too dangerous to bring her back, she insisted that I leave her," he pulled his grandfather aside and quietly told him of the plans for the attack on the school, making sure that the girls could not hear.   
  
Eric nodded gravely, "do what you must."   
  
"I'm going to borrow a couple of things from your lab and then head back to the school to warn them, make sure the girls get back."   
  
"Do you think they would be safer here?" Eric asked quietly.   
  
Zach paused in the doorway for a moment, before finally responding, "no, I think not. We may need your help at the school and you can't leave them here alone, bring them back with you."   
  
Eric gave a curt node of approval; he would guard Severus' children with his life. It was the least he could do. His eyes briefly met Nimue's. That girl was so quiet, he didn't doubt that she knew much more about what was going on than others gave her credit for. And with the way she was looking at him he had a feeling she knew the school was in danger. Dierna, on the other hand, seemed so wrapped up in the mirror before her that he doubted she even remembered there were other people in the room.   
  
Dierna stared in wonder at the image in the mirror. Just a short time ago she had thought that she would never see Stefan again. And now there he was.   
  
He looked horrible. He hadn't shaved in weeks, his clothes were dirty and tattered, he was thin. But he was there, and he was clearly alive.   
  
She tentatively brought her fingers up to touch the glass, but drew them back again before they made contact. She wasn't quite sure what she wanted to do now. She was glowing from the fact that she new Stefan was alive.   
  
"There now girl, you have your proof," Eric said kindly, "now you best be on your way back to the school."   
  
"Aren't we going to do something?" Dierna asked, turning reluctantly from the image of Stefan, "we should go after him, we can bring him back."   
  
"Too dangerous," Eric said, his raspy voice as gentle as he could make it, "I will make sure that the Order knows exactly where he is, and that their next order of business will be to retrieve him. You must wait just a little bit longer, but he'll hold you in his arms again, wait and see."   
  
"But I don't want to wait."   
  
"Ah... the impatience of youth. Don't worry child, it won't be a long wait. Now then, I have a couple of books to return to your father, as soon as I get them from the lab I'm sending both of you girls back to the school, you'll be safe there."

* * *

"You had better have a damn good excuse for pulling me out of bed Potter," Severus growled.   
  
Harry shrugged as he paced the confines of the Order headquarters, deep in the dungeons, "I'm actually hoping that there won't be any reason at all. I've just got this feeling..."  
  
"I sincerely hope you didn't drag me down here to examine some nonsensical mess that you may have gotten yourself into."   
  
"Its more than that," Harry ceased his pacing long enough stare moodily at a tapestry hanging on the wall.   
  
"Then why don't you just tell us what it is so we can go back to bed," Severus hissed.   
  
Sirius tried a less angry approach, "we're all worried Harry, and I know you've felt particularly useless recently, so anything you can tell us will help."   
  
Harry continued to stare at the tapestry without really seeing it, "for so long I was connected to Voldemort, I could feel his emotions. It was almost as though they became a part of me I lived with them for so long. When we thought we defeated him," he paused bitterly here, part of him blaming himself for not making sure Voldemort had been completely annihilated, "when he was administered the dementor's kiss all emotions were gone, my contact with him was severed.  
"They've slowly been coming back now that he is back. I woke up tonight because of them, he's planning something. I don't know what, but he seems very happy about it. And when he's happy that usually is not good for us."   
  
Sirius sat down at the one table in the room, "then we have to figure out what he's happy about and plan to stop it."   
  
"It's not that easy Black," Severus said sharply.   
  
"And I suppose you're the one who can figure out exactly how to stop him, never mind that the rest of us are willing to help, is that it? You're just tired of Harry always being the hero..."  
  
"I'm thinking realistically, I know much better than you how Voldemort does things."   
  
"Ah yes, tell us Snape, how exactly does one who bears the dark mark think?"   
  
Severus clinched his hand in a fist in a monumental effort not to reach for his wand and hex Sirius into oblivion, "I stand to lose more than you could ever imagine Black, should Voldemort play his hand as he chooses, do not cross me in this."   
  
Sirius barred his teeth with animal like ferocity, "what, afraid that some of your friends from the past may not be so amiable towards you now?"   
  
"Would you two stop it? One would think that you hadn't managed to put your differences aside for the past decade and a half the way you're acting now," Harry resumed his own seat, "we're all members of the Order and we need to work together if we're going to defeat Voldemort once and for all."   
  
Severus felt the rage building within him, he did not appreciate being told what to do by the Boy-Who-Just-Refused-to-Die. "As I was trying to say before your dolt of a god-father insisted on offering his unwanted opinion, Voldemort likes nothing better than a good façade. If he is aware that your link with him has been fully reestablished he will take to projecting false emotions just to throw us off."   
  
"So, for now we trust nothing," Harry said quietly.   
  
"Exactly, and trust no one. Circe only knows where the dark lord has planted spies."   
  
"So, we can assume that the school is no longer safe?" Sirius asked.   
  
"We can assume that no one and no place is safe."

* * *

Dierna listened to the uneven tread of Eric's footsteps as he headed back towards his lab. Her mind was racing. It was now or never. She had to do something.   
  
Hoping that her sister didn't know what was going through her mind she once again brought her hand up to the glass. It wavered a bit when her fingertips made contact with it, sending ripples over a liquid like surface. She wondered what it felt like...  
  
Taking a deep breath she quickly stepped through the mirror before she could change her mind or Eric came back to stop her.   
  
It was the most unusual feeling she had ever experienced. Traveling like this was not like anything she had ever dreamed of. It was like she was caught in a kaleidoscope, there was color and light all around her, but everything kept spinning wildly. All of a sudden it stopped and she fell out of the mirror on the other side.   
  
She gingerly rubbed her knees as she stood up. Apparently some things didn't change no matter your method of travel. Be it floo, portkey, or mirror, unless you were expecting the stop there was a tendency to fall flat on one's face. But she quickly pushed that to the back of her mind as crossed the grimy floor.   
  
Not giving her sore knees another thought she knelt on the hard floor next to Stefan. She very tentatively reached out a hand to touch his shoulder, needing the confirmation of actually feeling his flesh for it all to seem real. She knew a moment of pure joy when his eyes opened and she saw the spark of love in them when he saw her.   
  
She was about to pull him up so that they could go back when there was the sound of shattering glass. Instinctively she brought her arms up over her head to protect her face, as Stefan rolled over to avoid the shrapnel.   
  
As the last shards fell around her and Dierna cautiously opened her eyes she thought she would be physically ill. The pieces of glass lying around her were the mirror. The last thing she remembered was a strong pair of hands picking her up, as another pair held something over her face.

* * *

Nimue's shriek rang through the mirrored room, causing Zach and Eric to come running. Trying to remain calm she desperately gestured to the now dark mirror in front of her, "she went through to get Stefan, I would have stopped her, but I didn't know she was going to actually do it... and then someone broke the mirror on the other side."   
  
Eric swore loudly and quickly pressed his hand against the silver tree, "Hogwarts, the dungeons, west side." Instantly all the mirrors in the room began to pull up images as they cycled through the mirrors in the school, trying to get as close to the location Eric had given as possible.   
  
Finally finding one that satisfied him Eric pushed his grandson towards it, "go now, tell them about the impending attack and what happened. Bring back whoever the school can spare from their defenses."   
  
As soon as Zach was on his way Eric placed his hand back on the tree and gave new orders. The mirrors began shifting images again as they searched for him.   
  
"What if Dierna just finds another mirror? Can't she just come back that way?"   
  
"It doesn't work like that child," Eric said as he examined the views his mirrors were giving him. The mirror has to be currently projecting its image here for it to work. I have to be able to see your sister for her to use the mirror to come back, which is why I'm searching for her now."   
  
"What happens when you do find her?"   
  
"Hope that she is alone, go in, grab her, and come back."   
  
"That sounds simple enough."   
  
Eric shook his head grimly, "it's much more complicated than that. Chances are she's got a pretty good guard on her by now, and we can only hope that she hasn't been brought to Voldemort."   
  
Slowly the mirrors began to stop changing and each one finally rested on a different image. Eric nodded in satisfaction, "good, that gives us nearly every room in Voldemort's lair. Your sister is not appearing, but we should be able to pinpoint her soon."   
  
Nimue bit her lip worriedly as she looked around her at all the images. As she glanced at all the images surrounding her an idea began to take form in her mind. Perhaps there could be a trade... she knew that Voldemort wanted her after all... maybe if she went through...  
  
She glanced at Eric. His back was currently turned to her. She would have to act quickly for it to work, and she couldn't go into an empty room, Eric would only follow her and bring her back.   
  
She glanced around and moved to a mirror slightly to her right. There were several occupants, men that she didn't recognize. This would work perfectly.   
  
Deciding it might be best to alert someone to her plan she brought her small hand up to the necklace at her throat, she pressed her thumb into the small indentation of the smooth stone that hung from the chain, and when it began to glow warmly around her neck and she was confidant that her summons had been received she stepped through the mirror.

* * *

Kalliope was jolted awake by the necklace she wore, the stone pendant hanging from it was burning hot against her chest. The shock of being awoken so quickly left her short of breath as she hurriedly untangled herself from the blankets and searched for her robes.   
  
"Kalliope, why are you up?" Remus asked groggily.   
  
"I have to go."   
  
Remus was now fully awake. "Go where?" he demanded, his tired expression turning into a frown.   
  
Kalliope paused for a moment as she gathered her thoughts, realizing she wasn't sure where Nimue was. She closed her eyes and softly murmured a prayer to the goddess as she opened up her mind, letting her spirit search for Nimue. "No..." the word came out as a gasp. As she connected with Nimue she received in the little more than a half a heartbeat the girl's plan to sacrifice herself for the safety of her family and her knowledge of Voldemort's plan to attack the school.  
  
The priestess threw on her robes in a rush as she drug Remus out of bed, "go to the Order headquarters now, you will be needed, I must go to Nimue."  
  
Remus grabbed Kalliope's wrist as she ran for the door and pulled her back to him, "where are you going?"   
  
Kalliope kissed him with a tenderness that belied her worried state, "I will be fine, do not worry about me. I must go and you must protect your students."

* * *

"The time is nearing," Rheia's voice filled the small confines of the inner sanctuary. "Kalliope will return to us, her place is here, in this temple. But I fear that she must be helped along if she is to return here."   
  
A small group of senior priestesses gathered around, ready to do their leader's bidding. They had already prepared the scrying bowl and a ritual fire burned near by, putting out pungent smoke from the dried herbs that had been tossed in. The air inside the close space was heavy with the fumes.   
  
Rheia closed her eyes and swayed slightly as she stood, arms out with her palms turned out "the girl's fate is not yet clear to me, the one who I would have save our ways, there is another one who wants her too." The high priestess sank to her knees by the fire, "the goddess protects her own, and she has spoken. Kalliope will be returned to us, but it will be at a high price." Her voice became deeper and mellower as she sank deeper and deeper into the trance, "a sacrifice must be made, one the like of which has not been seen since Agamemnon raised his blade to Iphiginia. A life must be cut short; blood must be shed, before the goddess will raise her hand in our defense. The girl's thread has been spun and measured; it is only waiting to be cut."

* * *

Zach was sorely tempted to utter some of the more expletive phrases his grandfather was fond of using, but resisted. He was well aware of the frequency with which the password to the Order headquarters was changed, but had not expected to ever find himself without the new password.   
  
So he now found himself standing before the tapestry of Circe and being denied entrance, "I know you recognize me, you have to let me in!"  
  
"Sorry love," Circe looked far more interested in the goblet in her hand than the man standing before her, "orders are orders, you have to know the current password. Doesn't matter if I do recognize you, could be the effects of polyjuice for all I know."   
  
"But this is urgent!"   
  
"The answer is still no."   
  
"Would you consider changing your mind if I set you on fire?"   
  
Circe began to look alarmed, she wasn't authorized to let him in, but if he set her on fire she had no way of putting it out.   
  
"Now love, let's not be too hasty, I'm just following orders..."  
  
"Paganus," a deep voice said from behind them.   
  
Circe gave a slight nod of her head as the entrance slid open.   
  
"Remus," Zach looked slightly relieved, "I was beginning to think I'd never get in." His look turned deadly serious, "I have to find Professor Snape."   
  
"I've already been to his quarters, I believe he is already here. What happened?" Remus looked concerned over the state the younger man was in.   
  
Zach gave a slight shake of his head, "I think it would be best, and faster, if I only had to explain once."

* * *

Dierna returned to consciousness slowly, and for several bleary moments was not quite sure where she was. But as her vision cleared and she saw the crumpled form of Stefan lying at her feet it all came rushing back.   
  
Her first coherent thought was that they had to escape. Her second was that the task seemed impossible. It took her a full minute to realize why she was standing above Stefan. Her hands had been tied high over her head to a post in the wall, forcing her into a rather uncomfortable posture. Her wand was also missing.   
  
The only reassuring thought she could muster was that she was tied with ropes, not chains or magic. She wasn't sure why it was comforting, but it made her feel a bit less helpless.   
  
She was trying to come up with a plan when the door on the far side of the room opened long enough for a masked man to practically throw her little sister in, before it was slammed shut and locked.   
  
"Nimue, what are you doing here?!" Dierna's eyes grew large.   
  
Nimue shrugged, "I couldn't let you come here alone."   
  
"You shouldn't have come."   
  
"But I did. Maybe they'll release you in return for me."

* * *

"My children are WHERE?!" Severus' voice rose perceptibly at the end of his question. He didn't wait for a response, he grabbed his cloak from where it hung over the back of a chair and headed towards the door.   
  
"Wait for just one minute Snape," Sirius quickly came to his feet, "Voldemort wants nothing more than to see you dead."   
  
"He doesn't want me dead, he wants to make my life a living hell," Severus snapped.   
  
Sirius kept on, "you can't just go barging in there demanding your children back."   
  
"Then what do you propose I do Black?" Snape snarled, "I cannot leave them in his clutches."   
  
"I'm going with you."  
  
"Me too," Harry said, coming to his feet as well.   
  
Minerva, having been roused from bed to hear Zach's report remained seated, "you three best be off quickly," her voice was sharp and a bit higher pitched than usual, "Merlin only knows what those poor girls... go. Remus, you and Zach go wake the others, make sure the school is defended."   
  
"Where will you be?" Remus asked as he headed towards the door.   
  
Minerva rose very slowly, "I am going to Morgan. Her husband and two of her children are in mortal danger tonight, she must be told and she should not be left alone."

* * *

Kalliope pushed back the hood of her cloak as she stepped appeared next to the decaying building. Although the late spring night was warm it felt very cold here. Even the stars above seemed to shine a bit dimmer.  
  
She barred her teeth. _He_ was here. She knew it.

What had started merely as a rescue mission was becoming much more. The chance for vengeance was close at hand.   
  
She took several more steps towards the house, trying to decide on her best course of action. As a priestess she was in no need of an invisibility cloak to mask her presence. The elements obeyed her, they were at her command, the natural world was the domain of the goddess, it would ensure her safety.   
  
She was brought to a halt as a breeze played through her hair. It was no natural occurrence. She tensed, every muscle in her body readying for action, "Rheia..."  
  
Without seeing her Kalliope knew that the head priestess was there. It may not be physically, but her spirit was present. She knew the old woman was ready to interfere in some way, but she didn't know how.


	76. Chapter 76

Nimue, for the first time in her young life, finally felt as though she might just be worthy of claiming the Gryffindor virtue of bravery.  
  
When the door next opened, admitting a masked death eater, she walked straight to him, exhibiting no outward signs of fear, "take me to Voldemort."   
  
The masked man cringed slightly at the use of the dark lord's name, "you are in no position to be issuing orders," he hissed at her.   
  
"Take me to him. I wish to negotiate the release of my sister and your other prisoner."   
  
The man laughed.   
  
Nimue balled her small hands into fists and raised her chin. "I'm only going to ask you one more time, and if you refuse to take me to Voldemort then I shall be forced to go on my own."   
  
"Listen girl," the death eater bore down on her, "you better learn your place quickly or I'll teach it to you. I know lots of ways to make a pretty thing such as yourself squeal and plead for mercy. Not that you'll be granted any."   
  
"Nott, the dark lord wishes to see our little guest," Draco appeared at the doorway, his voice silky smooth.  
  
The masked death eater, Nott was his name Nimue mentally noted, grabbed her roughly by the arm and she tried to pull away.   
  
"Leave her alone," Dierna hissed at him, from where she was still tied to the wall.   
  
"Bring the little one," Draco commanded, and knock the other one out again if you need to.

* * *

Several of the priestess coughed as the smoke continued to fill the room, only a little bit of it escaping through the opened door. The acrid tasted of it stung their throats and hung heavily in the air as Rheia continued to chant and sway slightly in her trance.   
  
"The thread is woven, carefully spun by the hand of fate, measured out, it will soon be cut. A life will end so that a way of life will survive. This is the will of the goddess."   
  
The gathered priestesses murmured a response and one stepped forward bearing a basket, which she set by Rheia's side. Two serpents lay in it, both bright green in color and quite young.   
  
"Read them," Rheia commanded from her trance.   
  
A priestess, her hair streaked with grey, knelt by the basket and carefully examined the way the snakes moved. "Two lives will be lost tonight and a third hangs in the balance. A debt will be repaid, but at a cost. The serpents do not reveal on who's side the slain will be, only that death is upon us, she travels quickly and strikes.   
  
"Lives will be lost," Rheia said in a low voice, "but it is a price we must be willing to pay."

* * *

"Morgan, you must remain here," Minerva insisted.   
  
"No!"  
  
"You are not being given a choice, this is a direct command from the Order. You will not leave this room."   
  
Morgan reached for her cloak, "my husband and daughters are out there. I refuse to sit idly by when they are in danger. I would give my life for them."   
  
Minerva had a feeling it was Morgan's willingness for self-sacrifice that made Severus insist she be kept at the school. "Sirius and Harry went with Severus, I am sure that they will be fine. They will retrieve your daughters and return home."  
  
Morgan gave a slight shake of her head, "you don't understand, I cannot just leave them..."  
  
"I do understand Morgan."  
  
The younger woman stopped in her tracks, "I'm sorry Headmistress, I did not mean that."   
  
"I know you didn't child. But you must listen to me. You must stay here. Think of your children, not just the ones in danger. What happens to them if you go after your husband and both of you are..." Minerva trailed off. "The reason I stayed behind while Aidan ran missions for the Order was our children. As morbid as it sounds, I would rather they lost only one parent than be orphaned overnight." Minerva paused for a moment as she thought about her husband, the man she had lost so many years ago in the first fight against Voldemort, "You must stay here."   
  
"Is it so hopeless?"   
  
"No, there is always hope."   
  
Morgan sighed in defeat, "I don't know what to do with myself, I may go mad if all I have to do is sit here and wait. I feel like I'm abandoning them."   
  
Minerva gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, "I know it's hard. I'll send someone down to keep you company."   
  
As the Headmistress left she quickly sought out Remus. She wanted him to make sure that Mrs. Snape stayed put no matter what. She didn't doubt that her former student, who had no qualms about sneaking out after curfew, would give running straight into the face of certain death a second thought when her family was involved.

* * *

Nimue tried to push down the fear that was rising within her. She felt certain that any second now she was going to choke on it.   
  
"Looks like you're going to get your wish little one," Nott gave her a shake, "the dark lord is very anxious to meet you."   
  
Nimue swallowed roughly. Before she was anywhere near ready she was roughly thrown into a poorly lit room. She stumbled as her foot caught on the rug and she ended up on the ground.   
  
"Ahhhh... my sweet little visitor. I have been waiting for you."   
  
Nimue looked up cautiously, hoping that the fear she felt was well guarded. "I know what you want with me." Her voice shook slightly as she slowly rose to her feet.   
  
"I know. That is what makes you so valuable," Voldemort did not move from his place in the middle of the room.   
  
It took all of Nimue's courage and self control not to look away. She wasn't sure what she had expected, but this was worse. His pale, almost translucent white skin and large red snake-like eyes were horrifying. And his voice was so cold.   
  
"See for me," he commanded.   
  
"Let my sister and Stefan go first," Nimue countered.  
  
Voldemort laughed, "I think not. You see, I already have what I want. You. There is no reason for me to give into your little demands. Now See for me. Tell me what must be done so that I will be able to achieve the total domination I seek."   
  
Nimue twisted her hands in front of her, "it doesn't work like that."   
  
"You will do as I say, or suffer my displeasure little Snape."

* * *

Kalliope was about to sneak in the kitchen door when a pair of hands grabbed her roughly from behind and hauled her into the shadows.   
  
Her first reaction was to struggle against the strong arm wrapped so tightly around her waist and the large hand covering her mouth. Physically she was overpowered, but she didn't play by the books. In one last effort she bit down hard on her captor's hand.   
  
"Dammit! Remind me to warn Remus to watch out for that trick."   
  
"Keep it down Black!" Severus hissed, "Unless you want the entire army of death eaters to join us?"   
  
Kalliope's eyes widened, "Professor? What are you doing here?"   
  
Severus' eyes were hard, "they have my daughters."   
  
Kalliope nodded, it was all the explanation she needed. She turned to Sirius, "my sincere apologies, had I known it was you I would not have reacted so."   
  
"Save the small talk, we have business to attend to."   
  
Kalliope tensed. "He is close by..." she looked at the three men, "now that you are here I leave you to attend to the girls, I have my own business here tonight. There is something I must do."

* * *

Nimue's eyes had grown very large, "I'm still learning, I cannot just pull up visions at will. And I have very little control over what exactly I See."   
  
"Then I suggest you learn quickly."   
  
Nimue stood completely still, afraid to even breathe and far to distraught to even attempt a vision.  
  
"Nothing yet? Perhaps this will motivate you. _Crucio_."  
  
She hadn't realized that pain like this existed. She could never have imagined this, nor would she want to. She could think of nothing but the pain. When the curse was finally lifted she realized she was sprawled on the floor, her hair spread out around her, her breathing ragged.   
  
"Now, See for me.   
  
"I can't," she replied helplessly.  
  
"Then I have no further use for you."  
  
"Please..." Nimue managed to gasp out, but didn't finish. Her heart leapt to her throat as Voldemort reached for his wand and once again aimed it at her. She took one deep breath and looked straight at him, determined to be as brave as possible.   
  
"_Avada Kedavra_!"  
  
Nimue kept her eyes wide open as the acid green flash of light came towards her, and was beyond feeling when her body crumpled to the ground.   
  
"I would dearly love to see Severus' face when her body is returned to him," the dark lord mused as he walked out of the room. "Perhaps she will be more use to me this way."

* * *

Meg clutched Morgan's hand as they sat side by side on the couch. She had brought her children down with her and they had already fallen back asleep.   
  
Charlie was out with the dragons keeping watch and had put his foot down when Meg said she would help guard the school. So she had come down here seeking companionship as she was left with little to do save worry about her husband. Plus, Remus had needed to return to the main level so that he could help keep watch, and he needed someone to relieve him of Morgan-watching duty.   
  
Meg looked at Morgan's face with compassion, and her heart wrung for her. Both of their husbands were willingly placing themselves in danger. But to have one's children at stake too... Meg wasn't sure how the other woman was managing to hold up.   
  
"Misty brings tea for both the mistresses," the little house elf sidled in bearing a large tray, "Misty makes special tea so that they feel better about masters and young mistresses being gone."   
  
"If you put a calming potion in it I don't want it," Morgan snapped.   
  
"Please mistress..." Misty looked up beseechingly, "you'll be feeling much better if mistress drinks tea."   
  
"No." Morgan took a long time examining her hands, which lay idly in her lap. She wasn't used to sitting by and feeling so helpless. She wanted to do something, anything.   
  
Suddenly she sprang up from the couch, "I can't take this anymore! I'm going after them." She strode purposely towards the door.   
  
Meg sat stunned for a moment before she bolted after Morgan, not quite sure what she would do to make the determined woman stay put.   
  
"No! Mistress cannot leave!" Misty positioned herself in front of the door.   
  
"Let me by Misty," Morgan commanded, fully expecting to be obeyed.   
  
"No, Master Snape is more my master than you is my mistress and he says keep mistress Snape safe, and I do what he says. Mistress is not leaving."   
  
Morgan's mouth fell open in disbelief. It took her a full minute to overcome the shock of Misty's refusal to move, "you have to let me go, Severus and my daughters are in danger, they need me."   
  
"And Master Snape is saying he needs you more, he is saying that you stay here and Misty listen to her master. He was being nice to me when Tiberius was beating me, I owes him a debt and loyalty and I keeps them."   
  
Morgan moved another step forward, so distraught that she was ready to throw the small house elf out of the way if need be.   
  
"You cannot leave, I uses special house elf magic, no one leaves or enters until I is saying so!" Misty crossed her arms over her chest.   
  
Morgan sank to the floor, tears flowing liberally as Meg tried to comfort her.

* * *

"We meet again young Malfoy."   
  
"Do I know you?" Draco asked as he turned an appraising eye on Kalliope. He found that he liked what he saw.   
  
She leveled him with an icy stare, "I will remember you until I die and on into the afterlife. You haunt my past and my future. You killed my daughter."   
  
"Ah yes, the priestess... I remember now... my father had quite the time with you..."  
  
She bared her teeth as she approached him, "the Goddess protects her own. You took my daughter's life and now I will take yours."   
  
"Go ahead and try," Draco gave her a self-satisfied grin, confidant that he would be triumphant.   
  
She continued to advance, a ball of orange flames appearing in her hand.   
  
Draco had the decency to look stunned, and a bit scared.   
  
Kalliope paused mid step and grimaced in a moment of pain, her face clearly registering her shock, "someone I was close to has just died, a sister to me under the Goddess..." she raised her eyes to Draco her fury rising, "now it is your turn."   
  
"I'm not afraid of you, you filthy bitch," but Draco didn't sound as confidant as he hoped.   
  
"Don't worry, where I plan on sending you there will be plenty for you to fear."

* * *

Rheia's spirit had hovered close over Nimue as the dark lord threatened her. She had vowed to save her way of life no matter what the cost. And now she was ready to pay the price.   
  
As the dark lord raised his wand a final time to perform the killing curse she wrapped her spirit tightly around the girl, forming a shield invisible to the eyes of men. She was not going to let this girl die.   
  
The curse struck, but Rheia's spirit was not able to absorb all of it, leaving Nimue in a very perilous situation.   
  
In the temple of the Goddess a great cry rang out as the priestesses raised their voices together in a song of death. Rheia's spirit had not withstood the killing curse and had been sent on to the realm of the dead, her lifeless body had crumpled to the floor, blood spilling out, staining the white floor, from where her head had hit a stone.  
  
The high priestess was dead.

* * *

"What do you mean by saying that she is _alive_?"  
  
"My lord...I...I..." Macnair stumbled over his words, "I went to move her body and sh-she was still breathing." It crossed his mind to ask the dark lord if he had perhaps made a mistake with the curse, but thought better of it.   
  
"She must be dead, I performed the killing curse myself," the dark lord sounded anything but pleased as he remembered the last person to escape when he tried to kill them.   
  
"Perhaps my lord should check himself, I could be mistaken..." Macnair made a tentative suggestion.   
  
"Of course, I will check for myself." And if the girl wasn't dead when he got there, he would make sure she soon was.

* * *

Draco eyed the ball of orange flames warily as it floated towards him, "are you planning on burning me alive?" his voice still carried a malicious bite, although it was somewhat more subdued than usual.   
  
"No, you are not deserving of death by fire."  
  
"You can't kill me."   
  
"I can and I will."   
  
Draco reached for his wand, but it was knocked out of his hand by an invisible force.   
  
"Foolish wizard," Kalliope spat, "your wand is useless to you." She directed the flames she had conjured so that they bound Draco's arms to his side and bound his feet together. "You have nowhere to go now."   
  
"You can't do this."  
  
"I can do this. Just be lucky that I am not capable of the heinous acts you seem to enjoy."   
  
"What is that supposed to mean?"   
  
"I only plan to take your life, you took my daughter's. There is not a day that goes by that I do not ache for her, that I do not wish to hold her just once more. She would have been a priestess in her own right by now. You cannot understand the way it tears at my heart to know that I will never show her the sacred way, I will never see her participate in the ceremonial marriage, drink from the cup of the goddess, bear a torch in the mysteries. You have robbed me of the greatest gift I ever gave the goddess."   
  
Kalliope slowly approached Draco, "that is something that I cannot forgive, nor does the Goddess."   
  
"All I have to do is shout for help," Draco threatened, "you'll lose your own life."   
  
"Shout all you want, they won't save you," she reached down to her waist and brought up a bronze knife. "Killing you will not erase all the hurts you have caused, but it will prevent you from causing any more."   
  
"You won't kill me."   
  
"I'll do what the Goddess would have me do, and I will do what is necessary to protect my husband and the daughter he gives me," her left hand dropped to her still flat stomach, "I will not give you the chance to harm this one." Without a second thought she drew her blade across his neck and spilled his blood.

* * *

"Nimue," Harry spoke the girl's name softly as he gently shook her shoulder, "please wake up," he begged. But there was no response. He checked her breathing again, it was very shallow, but she was still there for which he was very thankful.  
  
He was now cursing the fact that they had split up to search for the girl's. Right now he knew the best thing to do would be to return Nimue to Hogwarts immediately, but he couldn't leave without finding Sirius or Severus first.   
  
"Harry Potter, I must say this is a delight I had not expected."   
  
"Voldemort..." Harry hissed the name under his breath but stayed crouched on the ground next to Nimue for a minute more giving himself a chance to compose his features. He knew that keeping his back turned to the dark lord might not be the best idea but he needed the time to think. "What did you do to her?" he asked as he finally stood to face the man that still haunted his dreams.   
  
Harry watched in fascination as Voldemort's face twisted with anger at the question, he hadn't been expecting that.   
  
"Is it as I told you my lord? Did she survive the killing curse?" Macnair asked as he rushed into the room, coming up short when he noticed Harry's presence.   
  
"She survived the killing curse?" Harry's mouth twisted in grim amusement, "first me and then her... not your best curse is it?"   
  
Voldemort raised his wand, "I will not fail this time Potter."

* * *

"If you hadn't done it I would have."   
  
Kalliope turned around to see Eva behind her holding a shard of glass in her hand, she heaved a sigh of relief at being startled by friend, not foe.   
  
"He wanted me for his new toy..."  
  
Kalliope nodded slowly, "that does not surprise me."   
  
The two women stood over Draco's body for what seemed to be an eternity. Eva finally broke the silence, "I think we should leave, I'm not sure if I can stand to look at his body much longer..." she turned away, "I suppose congratulations are in order, ja?"   
  
Kalliope looked confused for a moment before dropping her hand to her stomach, "yes... but please don't say anything about it when we get back, Remus doesn't know yet."   
  
Eva nodded, as her gaze took in the grey walls, as though she was just remembering where they were, "we should go back to the school, it is not safe here."   
  
"I'm relieved to hear someone talking some sense finally, I'd begun to think that everyone had lost their minds."   
  
"Eric!"   
  
"Keep your voice down girl," Eric quickly hushed Eva as he beckoned the two women to join him, "you're the first that I've found in the mirrors, and I want you to go back with me right now." He led them several steps down the hallway to a large and grimy mirror, "both of you go straight through now," he practically shoved Kalliope through and gave Eva his hand as she stepped up to the mirror, "I have a grandson who will be especially pleased that I brought you back in one piece girl."

* * *

Authoress' note:

Amanda - thank you!

Alicia - thank you for the wonderful review, and rest assured, everyone will love Snape by the time I'm through with this!


	77. Chapter 77

"I'll untie you."   
  
"What?" Dierna looked up and her eyes met Connors.   
  
"I'll untie you, let you go free."   
  
Dierna's eyes narrowed, "what do you want from me?"   
  
"I don't want anything from you, I just want you," he covered the distance between them and roughly covered her mouth with his.   
  
Tied against the wall didn't leave Dierna much room to struggle, but it didn't hinder her from biting down on Connor's lip hard enough to draw blood. When he staggered back several steps in surprise she spit in his face, "keep your filthy hands off of me," she hissed.   
  
He raised his fingers to his lip feeling the stickiness of the blood she had drawn, "you'll pay for that..."  
  
"You have to go through me first," Stefan, who could barely handle the exertion of standing, placed himself between Connor and his girlfriend. "She is not yours to do with as you like and I will not stand by while you try to."   
  
Connor pulled his wand from his pocket and aimed it at Stefan,_ Avade_..."  
  
"_Stupify_!"   
  
Connor felt to the floor with a dull thud.   
  
Dierna went limp with relief, and her eyes slid shut as she fought back tears, for a moment she had thought she would have to deal with the pain of losing Stefan for a second time.   
  
Stefan sank to the floor, finding that his legs just wouldn't support him for any longer.   
  
Dierna opened her eyes when she felt gentle hands working at the ropes that bound her wrists, "Eric, what are you doing here?"   
  
Eric's face darkened with anger, "you go through my mirrors without permission and straight into the heart of danger and dare ask what I am doing here?"   
  
"I'm sorry," she murmured as she rubbed her now free wrists. She winced in pain as circulation started to return and carefully avoided the spots where the skin had been almost completely rubbed off. Tears threatened again as she watched her father help Stefan up from the floor.   
  
Suddenly she felt very guilty, if it hadn't been for her they wouldn't have come here and Nimue... she sucked in her breath, she had nearly forgotten about her little sister, "have you found Nimue?" she asked in a small voice.   
  
"Not yet," Eric answered gently, "but we will. This is not your fault," he assured her, knowing very well what she was thinking. "For now you are going back, take the mirrors back to the Opera House, from there you can floo back to Hogwarts. I think both you and Stefan are due for a visit to Poppy, she'll fix you both up."  
  
"But I can't leave," silent tears streamed down her face, "Nimue followed me through the mirror, I want to help find her."   
  
Once Severus was certain that Stefan could manage to stand on his own he left him standing against the wall for support and took his daughter firmly by the shoulders, "you are going back to the school now, this is no place for you."   
  
"But it's..."  
  
"It is not your fault," he gave her a slight shake, "but you are going to do as you are told and go back, now."   
  
Dierna saw through the harsh tone of voice and looked into her father's worry filled eyes and nodded her acceptance reluctantly.   
  
"And to make sure that you go straight to the Hospital Wing Eric is going back with you."   
  
"Severus, you may need me here..."  
  
"No, you are too valuable an asset to the Order, one that we cannot stand to lose," Severus said as he escorted the group back into the hall and saw the two young people safely through the mirror.   
  
"And what about you Severus, what happens if you are lost?"   
  
Snape's look was guarded, "I have been lost for many years."

* * *

Charlie scanned the sky for a sign, any sign, of what was to come.   
  
"Anything?"   
  
"No, and I don't know whether that should be a relief or cause for more worry."   
  
Zach nodded, even though he knew Charlie couldn't see it in the surrounding darkness. "I think the dragons will give us fair warning if anyone tries to come in through the forest, but they've been silent tonight."   
  
"It's been too silent tonight."   
  
"Maybe we should check along the forest one more time."   
  
Charlie appeared to have not heard the suggestion, "it's almost dawn."   
  
Zach peered up at the black sky, where the stars still glittered dully, "how can you tell?"   
  
"It's always the darkest right before dawn."

* * *

Severus carefully made his way through the dim hallways. The fact that he had yet to encounter any of Voldemort's followers worried him, it made the whole situation feel like a trap.   
  
He was about to turn back the way he had come, something just didn't feel right, but something at the end of the hallway caught his attention.   
  
He carefully made his way forward, making sure to keep himself as much in the shadows as possible. He stopped several feet away from the body lying in a heap on the floor, a pool of blood starting to darken around it. That white blond hair was unmistakable.   
  
He took several more steps closer and knelt carefully next to the body. He felt a strong pang of guilt as he looked down into the wide open, unseeing, grey eyes. Draco Malfoy made him feel like a failure.   
  
Severus knew that he was not an easy man to live with and he knew that some of his past decisions would always haunt his memories, but his actions paled in comparison with those of Lucius Malfoy. Severus had known from the start that Lucius planned to mold his son in his own image. As his professor and head of house Severus had done his best to reach out to Draco, hoping to undo the damage Lucius had already imparted.   
  
But it had either been too late or not enough. An early childhood filled with abuse and the desire for approval from a man as harsh as Lucius had apparently made Draco immune to all of Snape's attempts.  
  
Reflecting back on it Snape realized that the hardest thing to accept was how much of himself he had seen in Draco. The similarities amazed him and terrified him. Their childhoods had been nearly identical and yet they had ended up in two very different places. When Severus asked himself why, they only answer he could com up with was Morgan. She was his life, his salvation.   
  
He mentally shook himself. Unless he started moving again his chances of returning home in one piece would significantly diminish. Before he stood up he gently reached out and closed Draco's eyes. After all he had done and failed to do for this former student he felt it was the least he could do.

* * *

A pair of capable hands caught Dierna as she literally fell through the mirror. At the moment Madame Pomphrey scolding her and asking if there would ever be a week that went by in which she didn't have to treat at least one of Severus' children was one of the most welcome sounds she had ever heard.   
  
The next thing she knew she was being all but crushed as Morgan enfolded her in a hug that threatened to leave her with bruised ribs.   
  
"I was so scared, I thought I had lost you," Morgan whispered against her daughter's hair.   
  
"I'll leave you to take care of her for now Morgan," Poppy stated briskly as she bustled by, "I have my hands full already." She turned to Stefan, "I thought my days of patching you up were over Mr. MacNeill."  
  
"Isn't it nice that some things never change?" 

Poppy frowned at his question and rewarded him by tying the bandage on his arm a bit more tightly than was necessary and proceeded to lecture him about taking his condition seriously.   
  
"Think we can sneak out while she's not looking?" Kalliope whispered to Eva conspiratorially.   
  
Eva would have smiled, but the bruises on her face made the action too painful, "let's go now while she's occupied. Sie ist so..."  
  
"Overbearing," Kalliope offered.   
  
"Ja, overbearing."   
  
Once Poppy was busy at her floor-to-ceiling medicine cabinet the two women made a dash for the door. Once safely outside the Hospital Wing they grinned at each other, a few giggles escaping.   
  
"I feel horrible being this giddy after all that has happened," Eva finally managed to get out.   
  
Kalliope smiled tightly, "I think we're just feeling a bit relieved at being back here and alive." She watched the younger woman intently for a moment, "I think there's a man you better go find."   
  
Eva blushed and smiled shyly, "ja, I think you're right." After a quick embrace she left Kalliope, heading outside into the inky darkness. She lit her wand, a solitary point of light in the blackness.   
  
She decided immediately to head towards where the dragons were kept, knowing that she would find him there. Within a matter of minutes she was throwing herself into Zach's arms.

* * *

Harry tightened his grip on his wand as he faced Voldemort. Neither of them had moved for what seemed like an eternity. They both faced each other, wands ready, waiting for the other one to make the first move. 

Harry had to fight against the natural instinct to turn around when he heard Nimue move behind him. He didn't dare take his eyes off of the dark lord. If he did, all would be lost.   
  
"She should have died Potter, just as you should have."

"You're not as all-powerful as you think you are Voldemort. And I'm not a child to be threatened by the mere mention of your name," he was a man with a family, and he was not going to let his lifelong enemy succeed in hurting those who were close to him.   
  
They continued to face each other, neither one making a move. The contents of their wands made it impossible for them to carry out a duel, as they had learned years ago. Each one was counting on the element of surprise, but not quite sure where it would come from.   
  
"You won't win Potter, my forces are too strong, my allies to great. All sorts of beings are coming to my side. Your precious way of life will be shattered, and I will rule all."   
  
"I won't let you win."   
  
"And how do you propose to stop me? Your Ministry is in shambles, it is slowly being filled with members who are loyal to me. Hogwarts is the only defense you have left, and it will soon fall."   
  
"Not while I'm around to protect it," Harry kept his eyes wide open, looking for his chance.   
  
"You will fail. Not even Dumbledore could stop me, and he lost his life trying. This time I will triumph and you will die."   
  
Harry found that his senses were in tune with a hundred different things. The slow and steady drip of water down the far wall. The wind outside. The tenseness that seemed to hang in the air. Every breath that his opponent took. They were all part of a rhythm.   
  
Nimue opened her eyes slowly and painfully. Careful to lie as still as possible she took in the scene before her. She had to do something, but her wand was gone... She thought back to all that Kalliope had taught her. She had learned some wandless magic, but nothing powerful enough to defeat the most evil wizard to ever live. But perhaps she could create a disturbance.   
  
She had been told often enough that as a servant of the goddess the elements were hers to command. The earth herself would protect her and work for her. Very carefully she rolled over so that she was lying on her stomach and pressed her palms to the floor.   
  
Concentrating as hard as she could and asking for strength she tried something which she had been told about, but had never tried. The ground shook in response to her touch and will, but she was too weak for it to do much more than tremble slightly. However it was enough to break the current stalemate between the two men above her.   
  
The next thing she knew curses were flying in the air over her. She pressed herself closer to the floor, hoping to stay out of the way. She was vaguely aware of more people coming into the room, several death eaters ran past her, not paying attention to her sprawled form.   
  
She was afraid to move, afraid that if she did she would draw unwanted attention to herself. Her fear kept mounting, and panic overtook her. She barely heard the shouting above her over the rushing sound that seemed to fill her ears.   
  
She didn't see the flash of purple light from a stray spell that hit her. But she felt its impact as it sent her skidding across the floor with a bolt of agonizing pain. It was a relief to sink into unconsciousness. The painlessness it offered was merciful.  
  
At one point she started to wake up, feeling several pairs of hands on her, rolling her over. But she couldn't even open her eyes to see if it was friend or enemy. She gratefully sunk deeper into the darkness.

* * *

Dierna perched herself on the edge of Stefan's bed and smiled warmly at him, so glad to be able to see him again, to touch him again.   
  
"Madame Pomphrey will throw a fit if she catches you out of bed," Stefan teased gently.   
  
Her smile widened, "let her, it would be well worth it."   
  
Stefan glanced at the chain around Dierna's neck, "you opened the box I gave you."   
  
Dierna's hand went to the ring that hung from the chain, remembering what it had felt like to see it for the first time, and thinking that she would never see the giver again. "I actually wanted to talk to you about that."   
  
"If you don't like the ring..."  
  
"I love the ring," she assured him. "It's just that..." she sighed and unhooked the necklace. She carefully slid the ring off of the chain and placed it in Stefan's hand. "I'm just not ready yet, and every girl deserves to be asked in the right way at the right time. I want you to take back the ring and keep it for awhile, but know that when the time comes I'm here and I'll most certainly say yes."   
  
Stefan cupped her cheek in his hand, "I love you. It was thinking of you that kept me going all those days."  
  
"And I love you. But when I thought you were..." she couldn't bring herself to say 'dead', "when I thought I lost you I learned that I can stand on my own two feet, without you by my side." She rushed on, hoping she wouldn't be misunderstood, "I want you by my side, always, but I just want a little bit of time to in which I won't be completely tied down. I'm not sure if I want to go straight from school into marriage. I know I want to marry you but..."  
  
"You can have all the time you need; it will be worth the wait."   
  
Dierna smiled in relief, "thank you."   
  
"Don't you think you had better get back into bed before you're caught?" 

"You aren't getting tired of me already are you?"   
  
Stefan laughed softly. The danger wasn't over yet and there were still lives hanging in the balance, but for the moment he couldn't imagine feeling any happier. He was alive and the girl he loved was lying next to him in an impossibly small hospital bed. For the time being life was good.

* * *

It was a very quiet group that walked back up to the school as dawn crept over the grounds and illuminated the castle. They were all weary and still a bit nervous.   
  
All things considered, the night had been fairly anti-climatic. The night spent sitting in the darkness seemed to have been wasted. But there was no relief in the faces of the group. They all knew that it was only a matter of time. Voldemort would attack, there was no doubt about it, but he would bide his time, waiting for a more opportune moment.   
  
It was not a pleasant thought.   
  
"We need to talk," Zach pulled Eva aside as they reached the entrance to the school.   
  
"Uber was?"   
  
Zach took her hand and led her to a bench set in a deep alcove by a window, "I'm sorry about last night. I should never have thought for a moment that you were spying for them. You've never given me any reason to doubt you and then..."  
  
"It is alright, you did not know the truth, and I wish I had not kept it from you."   
  
"I can't stand to see you hurt like this," Zach traced a finger lightly across a particularly nasty looking bruise on her face, "and I can't stand to think that I hurt you with my actions. I want to protect you."   
  
"You have protected me," Eva managed a small smile despite the pain.   
  
Zach shook his head, "that's not what I mean. I don't want to just protect you whenever I happen to be around. I want to always be there to protect you."   
  
Eva's eyes grew wide.   
  
"I'm not doing this very well," Zach confessed. "Eva, I want to take care of you. Will you..."  
  
"Ja." &  
  
"You didn't let me finish my question."   
  
"I think I got the general idea, ja?"   
  
"I think so," he leaned forward and brushed his lips across hers. He hadn't planned on asking her so soon, but after last night... their lives were all in danger and in times of war there were some things that just wouldn't wait.   
  
"Come with me to tell Clara?"   
  
Zach blinked in surprise, he had nearly forgotten about Eva's niece. But he recovered quickly, "of course. What do you think she'll say?" 

Eva clutched his hand tightly, "I think she'll say that it's about time."

* * *

Nimue wasn't sure if she wanted to open her eyes or not. She wasn't lying on the floor anymore, which meant she had no idea where she was. She wasn't sure if that was good or bad. But curiosity was starting to kick in.  
  
If she was in a dangerous situation she felt it might be best to just get it over with. There had been too much suspense in the past twenty-four hours for her to let her guard down.   
  
"You're alright love, there's nothing here to hurt you."   
  
"Mum?" Nimue opened her eyes, squinting against the bright lights that flooded the Hospital Wing, "what am I doing here?"   
  
Morgan gently stroked her daughter's hair, "your father brought you back here. You've been out of it for several days now."   
  
"Voldemort?"   
  
Morgan shook her head, "once your father and Sirius showed up he and his death eaters disapparated. We don't know where they are."   
  
It took a couple of minutes, and was extremely tiring, but Nimue managed to work herself up the mattress so that she was sitting up, "Mum, why are you crying?"   
  
"Darling, we love you so much, it's just that..."  
  
"You have to send me away," Nimue looked down at her hands, "Since I survived I've become a liability, Voldemort wants me gone."   
  
Morgan sniffed and nodded, "I can't bear the thought of sending you off somewhere, but if it will keep you safe..."  
  
"I understand. Where will I go?"  
  
"For the time being you will be coming to Greece," Kalliope joined them, sitting on the edge of Nimue's bed. "You will be safe at the temple, and I will be there to help keep an eye on things."   
Nimue looked up at the priestess, "but I thought you were staying here."   
  
Kalliope smiled sadly, "there has been a change in plans. Rheia named me her successor; I must return to the temple and take my place as head priestess. It is a responsibility that I cannot shirk. I have no choice." 

* * *

"I can't believe this happened again."   
  
"Blaming yourself will not help the situation Potter."   
  
"I know, but..." he sighed, "it just doesn't seem fair."   
  
Snape looked out over the school grounds, his expression unreadable. It wasn't fair. His family was being torn apart, the Order was in turmoil, there was no united force to stand against Voldemort. "Life is not a lenient mistress Potter, she is a harsh one. I would have thought you, of all people, would have realized that by now."   
  
Harry nodded slowly, "I know, it would just be nice if some things changed. I wish I could go through a day without worrying about Voldemort, knowing that he is still out there, still a threat."   
"Wishing is for fools."   
  
"Has there ever been a time when you haven't been such a pessimist?"   
  
Snape turned to face his former student, "no. I am, as you say, a pessimist because that is what life demands of me. There is no point facing the world with foolish optimism when you have led life as I have."   
  
"We'll make it through this; we'll defeat him this time. We have to." Even to Harry's ears it sounded like a desperate plea, not a certainty.   
  
"We will do the best we can, no more, no less."   
  
"Dark times are ahead of us, lives will be lost," Harry offered, although he felt his words were wasted. When Severus didn't reply he pushed on, "are you worried?"   
  
"Our families are not going to remain untouched Potter, do you realize that?"   
  
"I know you're sending Nimue away..."  
  
"It's not just that. We have been marked Potter, both of us," Snape's eyes had taken on a hollow, almost empty look, "he will stop at nothing to make sure we are both destroyed."   
  
"I would give my life if that is what it took to destroy Voldemort."   
  
"There are worse things to lose than your life."   
  
Harry crossed his arms over his chest, suddenly feeling very cold, "so what do we do now?"   
  
"Carry on the best we can and put up one hell of a fight."

* * *

Authoress' note:

this is it!!! last chapter, hope you all have enjoyed it

Year Two will follow shortly (very shortly)   
  
huggles all


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